One way ticket to Madness
Chapter 1
Her life was simple albeit busy.
Her life was monotonous in a good way.
Her life revolved around a seemingly amiable cycle of friends and work…..
Until the fateful day that a certain platinum blond Adonis ruined her perfectly ordered life.
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The second Hermione walked into the lab, she knew she was in trouble. Maybe it was the way the air crackled with 'you've got the worst day of your life ahead of you' or the invisible sign that seemed to be hung in front of her face that read 'you've screwed up the most important lab of the season'. Actually, it was probably the way Healer Fotunia Gelnaw was standing in front of her station akimbo with a vein the size of Africa popping out of her head and a face that was scarier than Frankenstein's.
"Unacceptable" Fotunia said snidely as she reviewed Hermione's work. Hermione glared silently as Fotunia continued to meticulously examine her lab work. Tsking at the most negligible of errors that Hermione forced herself not to role her eyes at this woman's obvious pettiness.
Unfortunately during her third month of her five year residency as a healer, Hermione had unintentionally caused the man that Fotunia was set on to show interest in her. It resulted in Fotunia quickly morphing from a countenance of indifference to one of utter abhorrence whenever she was in the same room as her.
More unfortunately was that Fotunia was one of three doctors from under which she was serving her residency. Hermione often cursed her bad luck. It wasn't even as if she had shown the slightest bit of to that pushover.
"Do numbers from thirty to fifty five over. It is bad form to have inconsistent data." Fotunia stated before turning to leave. Hermione gripped her wand tighter hoping she could just hex her into the next week but just nodded in acquiescence. She had learned the hard way that to show her temper to Fotunia would just result in extra hours and busywork.
Having seen the exchange Roxie, came over from her lab bench.
"She's a bitch, don't worry about it." Roxie said placing her forearms on the table and leaning over to have a look. They seemed fine.
"Watch your language if she heard you-"
"She won't. I think the stuff that's stuck up her ass is in her ears as well." Roxie snickered to herself as Hermione's lips twitched. Roxie was her partner in training and was entirely not what Hermione expected of someone who had graduated from Beauxbatons Academy.
Roxie was loud, forthcoming and rather uncooridinated when it came to everyday occurances. She was half asian and irish possessing the unique dark brown coloring reserved for those with mixed asian and caucasian bloodlines. They had become great friends as Roxie's outgoing nature mixed well with Hermione's raighteuos one.
"You know if you expanded your vocabulary you could insult people and sound classy at the same time." Hermione commented as she started to pour out the remaining liquid from her emperical mixture.
"No, I'd just sound like a stick was stuck up my ass," At Hermiones reproving gaze she chuckled, "kidding, kidding…but don't you feel that its easier to make your point with simpler more well know vocab like bitch an-"
"No, I'd like to think I could convey my self better without using vulgar language."
"Awww don't be so uptight. You know that if you weren't so proper about everything you'd totally agree with me. And don't even think of redoing these. They're perfect and that…." Upon catching Hermione's wry glance she coughed, "female dog won't be able to tell the difference. What? Hey, I like dogs!"
Hermione raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Stripping off her gloves she made a disgusted noise. She hated the greasy feeling of sweat and whatever powder was inside them.
"I need to get out more. All these extra hours are driving me insane and I swear Fotunia is PMSing." Hermione said as she undid her lab coat and stretched her arms.
"I agree entirely. Lets go clubbing! I haven't gone in two weeks-" Roxie was cut off mid sentence by a dour glance as they both hurried to grab purses and bags to go home.
"I don't do clubbing remember? That's for people who want to get mauled." Hermione muttered.
"Hey that was ONE time and that club is nothing like the club I'm thinking about tonight. This one is high class. My cousin got us onto the guest list. I just love him." Roxie finished looking expectantly at Hermione. She sighed as she stared into Roxie's hopeful expression.
"How high class?"
"Very."
"Yeah….lets expand on that" Hermione coxed her although preparing to turn her down. Roxie was sure of it.
"Very exclusive. It's near your place so you should know-Noir" Roxie replied slyly. Hermione glanced incredulously at her. It was high class, Hermione had to giver her that. It was so exclusive that Hermione was wondering how Roxie's class B celebrity of a cousin had gotten two separate slots for them.
"How did you ever get him to agree?" Hermione asked suspiciously. She was sure that Roxie would have had to black mail him somehow.
"That embarrassingly cute picture from when he was six might just happen to be leaked to the press, nothing big." Roxie grinned devilishly. The expression fit her perfectly as her features were shaped somewhat like a foxes: Slim and Sharp. Hermione snorted a very unladylike sound. Her heels clicked smartly on the ground as they made their way through the lobby.
"Or….male strippers at his next birthday party." Roxie added almost making it sound like an afterthought.
"What!?" Hermione's head jerked to stare at Roxie open mouthed. Roxie just put an air of mock innocence. Hermione new she was anything but a paragon of virtue however. Roxie shrugged and then ruined her veneer of innocence with a smirk.
"Hey, I thought it would spice things up a bit, add some flare to the party." She shrugged nonchalantly.
"He'd get more riled than the other time." Hermione and Roxie had now made it to the parking lot and Hermione dug into her purse for the keys. Scrambling through a jungle of items, she fished till the damn keys came out.
"Oh I know…he'd get so hot and bothered-" Hermione cut Roxie off as she slid into the drivers seat.
"No, that's not what I meant Roxie. Just that he'd hate you and ignore you for like a month. And then you'd just bother me because he wasn't paying attention to you."
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, you are coming with me tonight, no excuses." Roxie said confidently while giving the finger to someone that had honked at them. Hermione quickly swatted at her hand.
"Stop that, people will think I'm crazy. And no I have work that Forutnia gave me to do. Unlike some people I care for what I do."
"Hey that isn't fair, just because I'm not OCD about my work doesn't mean I don't care. And yes your ARE coming or I think maybe…." Roxie drifted off trying to come up with a suitable threat.
"Or nothing, there is nothing you can do that could possibly make me want to waste a perfectly good Friday evening being groped by sketchy men."
"Or male strippers…" Roxie tapped her chin as if in deep concentration. Hermione glared daggers at her friend before once again focusing on the road.
"Maybe at your birthday party with let's say Harry, Ron and the rest of the Weasley family….I could even hire the expensive kind and pick a costume." Roxie's eyes were lighting up now in real possibility.
"You'd never dare." Hermione said firmly as she if trying to convince herself. However it was useless trying to fool herself since Roxie had carried out a similar threat before.
"Try me." Roxie suggested while calling someone on her cell. Hermione fell silent while she listened.
"Hey, yeah…"
"You too….em hmm"
"….about that, could you bring it up today I have a frien-" Roxie laughed at something. Hermione was sure they were talking about her now.
"….no the dark blue or black halter"
" Hmm, that's what I thought too but she'll be able to pull it off."
"….yeah we're going clubbing"
"…..really?"
"...Noir" Hermione could discern a gasp of shock from the other end and an exclamation of pure shock and excitement.
"…haha yeah she's somewhat conservative with her clothes so this number will look bloody fabulous on her." Hermione crushed the urge to grab her phone and throw it out the window.
"….thanks, no problem"
"….bye." Roxie flipped the phone shut and placed it back into her purse before turning the radio onto some random channel.
"Take A LEFT!" Roxie yelled while reaching for the stearing wheel. Hermione turned in a panic causing the tires to squeek and both of them to be thrown to the right. Hermione pinned Roxie with a well diserved glare.
"What was that for, you could have had us killed."
"Well we're alive alright? Just calm down." Hermione was still to angry to understand that Roxie had strategically stopped them in front of her rather opulent apartment complex.
"You're so irresponsible Rox," Hermione commented as she looked around and was about to turn into traffic once again.
"You're not going home honey. You're coming to my place so I can work my magic and change you from the ugly duckling to a magnificent goose…geese? Well whatever you call it." Before Hermione could protest she put the vehicle to park and snatched the keys out of the ignition. Grinning widely at a deeply frowning Hermione she dangled the keys. Hermione made a quick swipe for them but Roxie drew away even quicker.
"You aren't getting these."
"I'm not going clubbing." Hermione's obstinate nature struck out again.
"Yes you are and there is no bloody way you're getting out of it." Roxie dangled the keys once again. "It's not like you can go anywhere without these anyway."
"Shut up. You know I hate loud places with obnoxious people."
"But I need someone to go with me. And you need to get laid so this obviously is the answer to our problems." Hermione made a face at her.
"I don't need to get laid alright. I just need some quite time to read."
"Like last Friday?" Roxie asked
"Yeah…"
"And the Friday before that?"
"Yes." By now Hermione was gritting her teeth in annoyance.
"And….maybe the Friday before that?" Roxie was pushing her patience.
"Yes, now give me the keys."
"Not..." Roxie swung the keys before her eyes, "If you are seriously considering having male strippers at your birthday, which might I remind you is in less than three weeks from now." Hermione hissed in annoyance before leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes. Letting out a breath she turned back to an expectant looking Roxie.
"Fine but you can't….under any circumstances dress me up as a whore or anything that resembles one. Have I made myself clear?" Hermione said emphasizing the last sentence by narrowing her eyes. Roxie just laughed and stepped out of the car.
"No need to worry, the puritanical face will balance out anything sluttish perfectly." Roxie chuckled to herself while Hermione stood off to the side with a sour expression on her 'puritanical face'.
"You know that doesn't actually encourage me to follow you in this peculiar endeavor of yours right? I don't even know why I'm bloody bothering." It wasn't often that Hermione cursed but when she did it either spoke of volumes of stress or a great deal of hatred. Currently Hermione was just too tired to deal with all of this.
Following Roxie up into her lavish apartment Hermione trudged through the door way, apprehensively eyeing the three dresses that were already lying on Roxie's leather sofa.
"Oh she already sent them over! Awesome, come here Hermione try this on I think it'll fit." Her feet hurt and she was feeling rather lethargic. With a sigh she stood up and took the dark blue dress, nearly dropping it before stripping and putting it on. Roxie had turned her back to give her a shred of privacy but truthfully Hermione didn't care, it wasn't as if she had something that Roxie didn't.
Hermione grumbled slightly as she awkwardly pulled the dress over her head, having trouble understanding where her arms and everything else went. Its not as if it's my fault, I don't wear dresses often Hermione thought.
"Hey Rox, I'm stuck…." Roxie made an incredulous noise in her throat before turning around to a Hermione who was indeed stuck putting on a halter dress.
"Hermione this is a halter…how can you possibly be stuck? Are you stupid or something….no that can't be it. Must be the coordination…"
"Rox if you don't com help me now, I'm shredding this thing." Hermione warned.
"Fine, here." Roxie pulled the halter out from the awkward position on the side over Hermione's head before straitening out the rest of it.
"Now all we have to do is tame this bush you call hair, put on some make up and we're done."
An hour and a half later Hermione was fully dressed in a black halter that came to mid thigh. Her face covered lightly with make up, and her hair tamed with a charm into as Roxie put it 'a little less like a conflagration of crazy trees'.
"If you put a little effort into your appearance you could move from…." Hermione gave her a flat stare, "what you are now to a beautiful princess fit for a brothel." Hermione smacked her for that one.
"That's exactly what I aim not to do…look like a just stepped out from being a prostitute. And why is this so short Roxie." Hermione complained while tugging at the hem nervously. It came to mid thigh not short enough by Roxie's standards.
"Stop whining you look fine…" At Hermione's look she elaborated
"NOT like a whore alright?"
"Do I have to go? Its not like I can pick up anyone anyway, they're all celebrities I'll look like a cow next to all of them." Hermione tried one last time. Roxie looked her over again. Truthfully, Hermione would probably be prettier than half the girls there. Even if it wasn't her scene it was Roxie's job to get Hermione out of her comfort box every few weeks to live a little.
"No you're going. Even if you can't hook up, we'll meet celebrities. You know those people on magazines and stuff. It'll be amazing I promise you. Maybe we'll even get to see some of those Quidditch players!" Stars were forming in her eyes as she clapped her hands in childish excitement. Roxie had played quidditch at the Academy and although she didn't play anymore, was obsessed about the England team. She could name all the players, their positions, numbers, and what string they were. To Hermione this obsession was coming a little out of hand. Especially since it was Hermione that she came to gushing about how hott so and so was, or how handsome some chaser was. She was getting rather sick about it.
Roxie hurriedly pushed Hermione out of her apartment and into the elevator. Once in, she pressed the button for the main floor lobby. Hermione could never get over how rich Roxie's apartment was. Her parents owned a wizarding sports store that had become popular relatively quickly. Mainly concerned with Quidditch it attracted male and female players not only with its massive stock of equipment but also with posters, articles, and statistics of their favorite players. This unfortunately led to Roxie's room being plastered with quidditch posters of all kinds.
Her cousin was already waiting expectantly for them outside, a tall lean actor of twenty five. No one could tell they were cousins as Leon was of her Irish side his hair dark brown, showing off almost a black sheen and his hazel eyes flashing a blue green sparkle.
He gave her a welcoming smile and murmured a hello before acutely ignoring Roxie. Roxie leaned over to her and whispered quietly.
"He'll get over it…he always does."
"Shows the number of times you've taken advantage of him."
"Yeah, he was real good." Roxie flashed a sultry smile and wiggled her eyebrows lasciviously.
"That's not what I bloody meant, get your mind out of the gutter and stop twisting the meaning to everything I'm saying." Hermione elbowed her a little.
"Ow…hey, you walked right into that one," Roxie exclaimed unabashedly. They both got into her cousin's car. Hermione made small talk with Leon from the back seat as he was pointedly ignoring Roxie.
"How is the shooting going?" Hermione asked leaning forward and pulling at her skirt once more. The damned thing was just too short. She saw Leon make a face in the rear view mirror and laughed.
"Not well?"
"I told you about Hannabelle Skritly right?" Hermione nodded urging him to go on.
"She's a total nut case that one. That bloody bint followed me everywhere, even into the mens room. She's convinced that we're soul mates." Leon made an aggravated sound as he swerved to the right. Roxie snorted and laughed at his expense. Leon shot Roxie a flat look and Roxie flashed a million dollar smile right back. He just sighed before he went on.
"Her dad is on of the co-producers so I can't do anything about it. Besides, this movie seems to be doing well. It may boost up my standings so I can't go and screw it up just because of some crazy, spoiled, bitchy brat." Leon ranted.
"Lonnie?" Roxie smirked
"…."
"Lonnie?" This time a little louder.
"…."
"Lonnie" This time it was a whine.
"What!?" Leon asked exasperatedly slipping her an obscure glance through narrowed eyes.
"Talking to me now?" Leon eyes widened at his mistake before shrugging.
"Whatever." Roxie grinned indulgently
"Leon dear, you have a woman that's just falling at your feet. Why don't you just take advantage and live a little huh? You know some casual hook up here and there. I bet she's good." Roxie said slyly. Leon gave her a sour look.
"She'll probably stick like super glue after that. I'd rather not thanks."
"You can never stay mad at me Lonnie, I just love you." She reached over to ruffle his dark locks affectionately. He pulled away, or as far as he could without loosing his concentration, and tried to straiten his hair with one hand while cursing under his breath. Roxie grinned as she did it again her laugh tinkling throughout the car. Hermione watched the byplay between the two with interest as she had a limited family.
"Stop that…you know I hate it. Stop being obnoxious Rox." Leon muttered finally trying none to successfully to straiten his hair that was now ruffled beyond repair.
"You boys say that you don't care about your appearance and complain when we do our hair but…"
"We don't its just now I looked like I just rolled out of bed damn it."
"Sure…you know I think you're vain." Roxie was goading him.
"I am not! I just want to appear presentable." Leon asserted as he pulled into the front, steeping out and handing the keys to security. Hermione stepped out from the back and joined Roxie in front of the club. Unused to being photographed she shied away as Leon seemed to be unbothered by it. Roxie even seemed to be enjoying the situation. She would, Hermione thought as they walked up the red carpet and through the gaudy entrance.
Little did she know that, as she walked through the entrance and flashed the ticket with her name on it, this was her one way ticket to madness. A dynamic change was about to happen to her for better or for worse. The limelight that Hermione had always avoided would soon be caste on her with florescent strength.
Following Roxie and Leon in, Hermione just missed the blond man that stepped out of his clearly expensive limo and riled up the reporters unlike any other man could. The first string seeker for the English team was about to begin his nightly expeditions.
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Adriel Case tapped her foot impatiently as she stared at the young man across from her. She had been his PR for the past four years and had successively kept scandals from marring his reputation and family. Draco had come to her years before and asked for her to protect his mom from the ravenous press as his father had died in the war a year before. As one of the youngest and most successful seeker on a professional team and the heir to a massive fortune the press started to hound him right out of school. His stunning looks didn't help him a bit either.
It had become progressively worse through the year. Finally when reporters had overrun his family and upset his mother it was the last straw. He hired Adriel a beginning but cunning PR specifically telling her to keep the Malfoy name respected and his family untouched.
"Remember, you can fool around as much as you want inside the club but do not leave with anyone alright?" Adriel was still tapping her foot with her arms crossed across her chest in a no-nonsense manner.
"You've told me this how many times?" Malfoy asked slowly and deliberately.
"it doesn't hurt to be careful and your accident yesterday may prompt some rash actions tonight."
"I'm never rash." Malfoy bit out as he stood up. Adriel just shrugged as if to humor him.
"I could fire you, you know." Malfoy threatened. Adriel smirked; Malfoy wouldn't dare even though he had mentioned it on numerous occasions. She was just to bloody good at her job. Adriel just had a knack fro drama.
"Whatever, just remember what I said under all circumstances. Now run along to your party. Can't have Draco being grumpy now can we." She had the urge to pinch his cheeks. Chuckling she opened the door and he stalked through it without looking back.
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A/n (IMPORTANT)
This came from a sudden inspiration from reading DMHG fics. I wanted to try my hand at it. I think their so cute. Anyways I'm looking at the turn out of this chapter to see if I want to continue. Ultimately Hermione will become Malfoy's fake girlfriend as Adriel forces them for the sake of both of their well beings. As they both can't stand each other … you get the picture chaos I luv it (squeals).
Next important thing. If I decide to continue I need a BETA and a person to pick out awkwardness. I have horrible grammar and I don't actually plan out my stories before I post. It's a chapter by chapter thing and I know that's not very professional but whatever. This person also needs to be well versed in HP stories and their lifestyle cuz I haven't read a HP book in three four years….I know blasphemy. But truly I don't know a lot of characters, their appearances, place names, wizarding world habits ect….
If there is any suggestion to plot feel free to speak out. I'm very open to suggestions as long as they don't veer to far off from my roughly sketched storyline. If these characters seem OC tell me because they might. I needed a break from head girl/head boy and marriage fic storyline so I came out with this. )
Also what is the English Quidditch teams name? or is their one. This is a need to know.
Down……….
Down……
Down….
Winks, you know you want to press the magic button. Toodles -