"What are you doing here?" Draco bit out, subconsciously positioning himself between Hermione and Greyback. 

The Death Eater didn't miss the movement, his eyes narrowing in on him shrewdly. 

"Looks like the pup finally found his voice," Greyback mocked. "Nothing like the cowering little scamp he was back in the day," he told Hermione with a vicious smile. 

"Shut the hell up," Draco warned. 

"Uh uh uh," Greyback warned, waving his wand mockingly. "Or you'll be at the mercy of more than my wand tonight." 

"I've already been bitten," Draco scoffed. Not that Greyback needed to know he didn't transform.  

"Yes, but she hasn't," his eyes wandered to Hermione predatorily. "It's been a while since I've enjoyed a women's flesh in both senses of the word... at the same time." 

"You won't lay a hand on her," Draco growled, sheltering Hermione behind him more overtly. 

He'd pulled her closer with a firm grip on her wrist, a little surprised that she didn't even resist his handling. If anything, she pressed closer against his back, as stiff as a door. It was the slight quivering he felt at his back coming from her anxious form that sent red hot rage flooding his senses like nothing before. 

"Like you'll stop me?" Greyback laughed. "Get it through your head, you were always inferior- even as a Malfoy. Inferior to the Dark Lord as a Death Eater, and now inferior to your alpha as a werewolf." 

"I don't belong to your pack," Draco spit out. "Besides, I wouldn't let you within a foot of her." 

Greyback quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "Oh you won't, now? You're awfully protective."     

"And you must be awfully stupid to target the golden girl- she has the protection of the entire ministry at her fingertips, if not the whole of Wizarding London," Draco smoothly deflected. 

Damn, he'd revealed too much to Greyback. 

"Makes it all the more fun for when they fail," Greyback flashed his canines dangerously. "And mark my words, they will fail. Not even you will be able to protect your little pet, Malfoy." 

"You seem to be under the impression that I'd come quietly," Hermione said firmly, stepping out from behind Malfoy. Her confidence and fearlessness betrayed to Draco by the minuscule tremors he could feel coming from her. 

"By all means, sweetheart, fight!" Greyback laughed excitedly. "It makes the hunt so much more enjoyable. Knowing you spend your days waiting for, even fearing, the moment I finally slip through everyone's defenses." 

"The only thing waiting for you is a cold cell in Azkaban." Hermione bit out. 

"I could take you right now if I wanted," Greyback murmured silkily. 

Draco stiffened, knowing they were next to defenseless at the moment and no match for a werewolf with a wand. He could take her right now, and he couldn't do a bloody thing to stop it. His wolf was in a frenzy within him, practically tearing at his insides for even thinking of such a reality. Consequently his grip on Hermione tightened, and Greyback narrowed his eyes in amusement at the motion. 

"Don't worry," He said breezily. "I told you, I don't intend to harm you... tonight. Where's the fun in that?"  

Before Greyback had the chance to continue, Malfoy reached deep within himself, summoning all his stored energy, bringing it flooding to his fingertips. Hermione startled slightly at the pulse of magic where Draco's fingers were wrapped around her delicate wrist, and that was her only warning before he blasted Greyback with an unrefined jet of pure silver magic. Not missing a beat, she took the chance to summon their wands to her grasp, immediately backing his burst of energy with a well placed stunning spell. Unfortunately, even the strongest of stunning spells would only faze a full-blooded werewolf. 

Greyback stumbled backward in surprise as the red beam of light hit him square on. He'd been partially blinded by Malfoy's surge of wandless magic, not anticipating the wizard to be able to perform such a feat. A deep growl rumbled in his chest in agitation, and he swiped blindly in front of him in an attempt to stabilize himself. 

Draco took Greyback's momentary loss in coordination to wrap Hermione in his embrace, his hand coming up to grasp hers, which contained both their wands. In a rare melding of magic, his power surged through to his wand, stringing Hermione's magic along the way as he whisked them into a vortex, disapparating them back within the ballroom. 

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"And like always, we'd like to begin our commemoration with thanks to some of our youngest and most invaluable heroes..." Kingsley's speech was brought to an abrupt halt by the violent crack of their apparition.     

Hermione steadied herself instantly, years old reflexes from the war coming back to her in a heartbeat. But while she was still a bit dazed, her body on autopilot for survival mode, Draco immediately sprung into action. 

"Greyback," he shouted to his partner the second he caught Harry's eyes. 

The rest of the Aurors immediately filed into rank, catching onto the dynamic between the two leading partners of the department. Draco took swift strides towards the Potters, leading Hermione alongside him. 

"Stay with the others," he warned her in an uncompromising tone. 

Hermione could only nod wordlessly. This Malfoy was confident and entirely in his element, this Malfoy was used to giving orders and being listened to.  

"Hermione, are you all right?" Ginny asked in a panic as Harry and Draco led their team to the quiet street from their encounter. 

"I'm alright," Hermione said, taking a quick inventory of herself. 

"Hermione!" Katie yelled, rushing over towards her with Cormac right beside her. 

"I'm okay," she assured them. "We escaped before he could do anything." 

Katie reached her first, sweeping her into a hug, mostly to reassure herself of her friend's safety. Cormac, being an ex-Auror, was standing with his wand at the ready, half listening to them and half assessing their surroundings, ready to defend the witches with his life if need be. 

"What happened?" Ginny asked in confusion. 

"I just stepped out for some air," Hermione recalled, shakily sweeping back strands of hair that'd come loose in their brief confrontation. "And luckily, Draco followed me. Next thing we know, Greyback disarmed us and just emerged from the shadows." 

"How did you get away if he disarmed you?" Cormac asked suddenly. 

"Draco used wandless magic to disorient him while I summoned our wands," she said distractedly. 

"Good thing you got away before he tried anything," Katie said in relief. 

"I don't think he wanted to, at least not tonight," Hermione thought aloud. 

"What does that mean?" Ginny asked hesitantly. 

"It means, tonight was a warning," Draco answered for her. He and Harry were walking back towards the group. 

"No sign of him," Harry told them. "But the others are securing the perimeter and tracing the surrounding few blocks for any sign of him." 

"What do you mean it was a warning," Ginny asked Draco. 

Draco ground his teeth together from the sheer rage of the recollection. "He threatened to come after Hermione. Told us to gather our best defenses, and he warned us how fun it would be for him when we all failed." 

Katie and Ginny both took a sharp intake of breath at the news. 

"What do we do?" Katie asked Harry. 

"Hermione's going to be under every possible protection we can provide while I hunt down Greyback." 

"You mean we," Draco bit out. 

"You know the rules, Draco," Harry told him sympathetically. "You can't be on the Greyback case anymore, it's a conflict of interest." 

"That's a bit ironic coming from you, Potter," Draco seethed. "No one told you fighting old Voldy was a conflict of interest," he spit out.

"I wish that were the case," Harry mumbled, rolling his eyes. "In any case, Greyback hasn't directly engaged you, he's threatened Hermione. So there's no justifiable reason to pull you back on the case." 

"Like hell, there isn't!"  

His wolf was already pacing right at the surface of his skin, and if he weren't already positive he couldn't transform, he'd be wary of turning right then and there. He was restless and positively enraged at the helplessness he felt in trying to protect Hermione. Clever, loyal, invaluable Hermione. The girl who always had another chance for those who didn't even deserve it, the girl who always put her friends before herself, the woman who he'd come to respect. The one person his wolf had decided to sink his claws into, refusing to let her go. 

"Malfoy, you know the protocol," Harry insisted firmly, talking him down with his eyes. 

He didn't know why his friend was being so impulsive at the moment. His usual levelheadedness was one of the things that served their partnership the best. While Harry was usually led by instinct and emotion, often pushing him to make impulsive and bold calls, Draco was the balancing calculative half that tempered his more dangerous calls and pushed him to think more strategically.     

"In the meantime, Hermione you'll be moved to a safe house where you will be sheltered until we have apprehended Greyback," Harry told her. 

"I don't think so," Hermione finally spoke up, finally gathering her wits. 

"'Mione-" 

"Don't you dare try and shuttle me away, Harry," she said sternly. "I will not have Greyback chasing me out of my own life. This is exactly what he wants, and being completely isolated will only make his goals easier." 

"But-" 

"Now I'm not being completely unreasonable," Hermione continued, ignoring him. "I will accept any security details you may deem necessary, but I will continue to work and I will not be driven out of my own home." 

Harry sighed, closing his eyes in frustration, knowing there would be no arguing with Hermione once she made up her mind. 

"Don't be daft, witch. You're essentially a sitting pygmy puff in your own home, that's the first place Greyback will look!" Draco argued. 

"He's right, Hermione," Harry immediately supported. "St. Mungo's is already fairly secure, it wouldn't take much to make sure you were perfectly safe there. But we lose the element of surprise if you stay home, regardless of how much security we place on your flat."  

"Then what do you suggest?" Hermione asked. 

"You could stay with me," Katie spoke up. "If you only ever apparate in and out of my place, Greyback will never be able to trace you back there, at least not by scent." 

"I don't want to risk endangering anyone who shelters me," Hermione insisted. 

"He'll expect you to be placed with Harry or another Auror," Katie defended. "Besides, we'll have security, right?" 

"Around the clock," Harry assured. 

"Well..." Hermione considered. It wouldn't be the worst idea; she'd still have a semblance of normalcy living with her friend and coworker and still be safer for it. 

"It's not enough," Draco insisted. "No offense, Katie, but the wards on your flat can't be nearly as powerful as generations worth of old magic." 

"We don't have any available safe houses like that," Harry argued. "But we could always try a Fidelius Charm." 

"We do," Draco argued. "She could stay at the Manor." 

"Malfoy Manor?" Harry asked in surprise. 

Draco hadn't lived in the Manor himself for years now. He'd told him that he had the entire place overhauled and cleaned out at the end of the war after the Ministry had finished their raids, but he'd never actually continued living there. He just maintained the upkeep for whenever his mother chose to use it to entertain guests. Even then it was rarely occupied since Narcissa had moved in with her estranged sister, Andromeda, after the war.  

"But Greyback has been in the Manor before," Ginny pointed out. "Wouldn't your wards be vulnerable to him?" 

"Not anymore," Draco insisted. "After the war, I used my magic to reset the lei lines of the property. It's old blood magic, and it essentially healed any weak spots in the wards from when my father opened our doors to the Death Eaters. No one gets in anymore without my explicit invitation." 

"Regardless," Hermione broke in, "I'd prefer to stay with Katie." 

"Granger, you're the clever one, be reasonable about this," Draco argued, his grey eyes shining uncommonly bright as the pleaded with her. 

"I'll be fine, Draco. Dangerous or not, at the end of the day Greyback is only one person."

"We can make it work," Harry compromised. Honestly, he was surprised Hermione had agreed to even this much; usually she was too obstinately independent to accept any help. 

"Okay... now what?" Katie asked. 

"Draco can you take bring Ginny home?" Harry asked. "I need to give the others their assignments and then I'll escort Hermione back to her place to gather some things before taking her to Katie's." 

The blonde gave a single tight-lipped nod, not liking their chosen action plan but unable to refuse the responsibility. 

"I'll head home and set up the spare room for you," Katie said, squeezing Hermione's hand before she apparated away. 

As they all dispersed, Cormac made his way to Hermione with his hands tucked into his pockets. He'd observed the whole scene, knowing it wasn't his place to interrupt. 

Draco waited with Ginny for Harry to return from the other Aurors, and Draco couldn't help but notice with an unfamiliar churn that McLaggen had basically witnessed their entire security plan to keep Hermione safe. Previous Auror or not, Malfoy didn't trust anyone with a case as delicate as this. Greyback had all but dared him to try his best and watch as they failed to protect this one witch, so he really wasn't trying to take any chances when it came to her security. 

"So..." McLaggen said with a soft smile. "I suppose our dates are on indefinite hold with these security measures?" 

"I suppose so unless you happen to fancy chalky cafeteria food at St. Mungo's?" She asked with a grin. 

"Not really no," Cormac scrunched his face in disgust. "How about takeaway picnics on your office floor?" 

Hermione's heart softened at the suggestion. He really had grown into such a gentleman. "I'd like that," she smiled. 

"I look forward to it," he murmured, brushing his fingertips across the stray strands of untucked hair that had fallen down her temples. 

Draco's hands curled into fists at his sides. In his mind he could envision himself stalking over there and ripping that hand away from Hermione's face for even daring to touch her. 

'That's the irrational wolf, you moron,' he berated himself.         

"Careful there, Draco," Ginny warned with a small smile playing on her lips. "Your emotions are showing." 

"I don't know what you're talking about," he evaded, grateful when Harry showed up so they could all head on to their separate tasks. 

Being this near Hermione after so many months, especially in a high stakes situation like this, was fraying his nerves and his closely secured control. And tonight was not the day he wanted to test that control.  

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HELLO, LOVELIES! 

Thanks for all your comments and reviews, I read every single one even if I don't always respond. Hearing your thoughts is one of the best parts of publishing, so thank you. 

Speaking of feedback, I'm considering changing the title of this story b/c 'Perfectly Matched' seemed a bit arbitrary at the time. If anyone has any brilliant ideas for alternative titles, please share. 

~Mischief Managed