A/N: Here is the beginning of part two within the Bar Elate series. I made an announcement in the first Bar Elate that I had started this back up even though I am two days late from my original due date. Since school has started back up I have a little more time, which sounds a little backwards. If you have not started reading Her Dark Enchantment then don't fret but you should probably start reading that.
It explains the story of Charlotte and Holly Lightheart, how Victoria Riddle came to be, and other things that may not have been clear from the first Bar Elate. I will be alternating posts from each of those stories for a little bit until Her Dark Enchantment is finished.
Okay, so that was note and now I will introduce Bar Elate 2: The Revenge of Victoria
-XOX-
Chapter 1: No Good News
Hermione sat in an armchair holding the new bundle of joy that Ginny Potter brought into this world. Hermione had always admired newborns. They know nothing of the world around them and lived in complete and blissful ignorance. They knew nothing of evil, nothing of hate, nothing of sadness, and nothing of anger. They only knew that they were loved and that was enough for them.
"He is beautiful, Gin," Hermione whispered, smiling at the sleeping baby in her arms.
Ginny smiled tiredly at her friend. She was exhausted but she couldn't manage to fall asleep at any point in time. She was too busy trying to keep an eye on her newborn. It wasn't that she didn't trust Hermione, in fact she trusted her more than anyone, but it was just that he was a newborn. Her first newborn, to be exact.
"He really is, isn't he?" Ginny asked, already aware of the answer that Hermione would give.
The baby just cooed in Hermione's arms as she played with his hand. He would grab on for a short amount of time and then just let go.
"Has Harry heard anything?" Hermione questioned, looking up at Ginny with hopeful eyes.
"Of Victoria's escape?"
"Yes," Hermione whispered, watching the baby's eyes close gingerly.
"Not recently. Although, he's at the office now…hopefully he'll get some news soon. I'm shocked that she escaped but I also didn't think it impossible," Ginny said, sitting up to take the baby from Hermione.
"I'm surprised she's kept herself hidden for as long as she has," Hermione said thoughtfully.
"Well, she's done it before. All we know is that she's not in the same castle she once was. That entire castle has been destroyed," Ginny answered, smiling as she held James in her arms.
"This suits you," Hermione smiled at the scene.
"Being a mother?"
"Yes, being a mother,"
Ginny just smiled and gave her baby a kiss on the forehead. Gentle enough not to wake him but tense enough to let him know that his mother loved him.
"Well, I have to hurry and get back to work," Hermione said, grabbing her purse from the chair she had been sitting in and bent down to give Hermione a small hug.
"Just be careful out there, Hermione. You never know when she'll just pop up," Ginny warned, making sure to keep her voice down.
Hermione nodded and apparated to Bar Elate where her shift was due to begin.
-XOX-
Harry sighed in frustration and face planted into the pile of papers that he had laid out all over his desk. He had tried to find everything he could on Victoria Riddle, right down to the escape paperwork that the guards had to fill out. He wasn't surprised that they had filled out the paperwork completely wrong but he was surprised that it wasn't checked over by one of the higher ups.
He had drained at least fifteen cups of coffee and he was still getting nowhere. She was completely MIA and he didn't know what else to do.
"Still no luck?" Ron questioned, setting another cup of coffee on his desk.
Harry didn't even lift his head up to look at his best friend, he just groaned in response.
"There is nothing! I've looked through all these pictures, all this messed up paperwork, and all of the newspaper articles I can find from the Daily Prophet in the past few months to try and get a hint of where she might be…nothing!" Harry lifted his head and threw some papers up in the air.
"Did any Aurors go through the guards memories of the situation?" Ron questioned.
"Yes and they all have no recollection of Victoria even being there. This tells me that she either conveniently erased their memories with Obliviate or she rewrote them. I tried to get more information of Enchantresses but I can't find much on them," Harry sighed heavily.
"Did you ask Charlotte?" Ron questioned.
"I don't want her involved. I don't want Victoria to know that Charlotte lived after that night. Charlotte hasn't fully regained her strength as an Enchantress either," Harry answered.
Ron just slumped in his seat. He had been trying to help Harry find Victoria since she busted out of Azkaban without a scratch. It was also keeping his mind off the fact that Hermione and Draco were still an item. It even seemed that they were getting along more than usual…which he absolutely hated.
Harry looked down at the picture that had been covered by all of the papers that were currently scattered all over the office. It was a picture of the room from the cameras that had been strategically placed around the room when the prisoners get visitors. This one had been taken when Victoria had practically destroyed everything in the room. Except, there was one thing that didn't get destroyed.
"Hey, what does this look like to you?" Harry questioned, holding up the photo for Ron to see.
Ron studied the photo and just shook his head.
"It looks like a vile for something," Ron responded, handing the photo back to Harry.
"I need to get my hands on that vile," Harry said quickly before bolting up from his seat and storming out of his office.
-XOX-
It was getting late but considering the hours for a bar, the night was just beginning. Now that Hermione had come back to work at Bar Elate, the bar has been hopping for the past six months. New drinks, new staff, and new regulars are making appearances around the bar. Hermione was running herself ragged trying to keep up with everything.
Right around midnight the bar started to slow down and Hermione finally got to the point where she could breathe again.
"Miss, can I have your best drink?"
Hermione smirked when she looked up and saw the head of platinum blonde handsome man sitting at the end of the bar. His smirk matched hers and he winked at her.
"I thought you would be by a little earlier?" Hermione asked, pouring him some fire whiskey that she hid under the bar just for him.
After all, it wasn't a common drink for muggles.
"I saw how busy it was earlier and decided to wait until it cleared out a little," Draco admitted.
"So, you were watching me?" Hermione questioned, narrowing her eyes in his direction.
"Yes,"
He sipped his drink slowly.
"That's a little creepy," Hermione smirked.
"I'd like to think so," He joked, giving her another wink.
Hermione didn't think she would enjoy this so much but it turned out that she was the happiest she had ever been in her life. Granted they had only been together for six months but it felt longer than that. It still amazed her how happy she was with the Draco Malfoy.
"I'll meet you outside after your shift," Draco said, polishing off his fire whiskey.
He headed for the door and Hermione tried her best to get every customer out the door as fast as she could.
-XOX-
Draco traced patterns that only the artist could see on Hermione's pale skin. It seemed to glow in the light of the moon but he absolutely loved the way she looked. He loved the way their skin felt on each other and just how warm she felt in his arms.
"Happy Anniversary, Hermione," Draco whispered to her sleeping form.
She shifted slightly and nuzzled her head that was full of unruly curls under his neck. She sighed heavily and smiled to herself.
"I thought you might forget," She whispered.
"I thought you were asleep," He answered.
"I guess we both still surprise each other," She laughed.
Draco smiled and pulled the sheet up to cover her forearms but not her shoulders. He loved how luminous they were in the moonlight seeping in through her curtains and how they would rise with each intake of breath.
"Hermione, I-" Draco started.
"I know," Hermione interrupted.
She kissed him gently and savored every movement between them. Every breath, every whimper, and every moan of ecstasy was remarkable. It was almost every night and they never thought any of this made sense. For now, it does and they loved it.
During their rambunctious love making, they never noticed that someone had left a letter wedged in between Hermione's window with a very familiar handwriting on it. In simple words, it read:
I'm back.
A/N: No, it's not much to start with but things are starting back up and it's going to get a lot more complicated. Stay tuned you guys!
