Disclaimer: I do not own the fabulous world Harry Potter. I do not own the whole plot, I got this idea from reading Caribbean Cruising, which is a good romance book! Though I do not own either of these books, the boat most of the story takes place is my own creation.
Exploring Wonders
Night One: Dinner and a Dance
When 4:55 rolled around, she did some touch ups and looked in the mirror. She was dressed in a nice, casual, but a little flirty black silk dress that clung to her curves just slightly. The hem came down past her knees, showing just enough of her long slender legs.
She grabbed a little black purse that matched her dress. She made sure she had everything of importance in it; room key, wand and, as if in memory of Ginny, lipstick. Then she headed out the door.
"Good evening Madam. I am Anthony and I will be your server for this evening. How about a drink to start?" The waiter handed Hermione the dinner menu and waited for her response. Then he quickly pulled out his wand and conjured her order. He then left her to look at the menu.
Hermione finally chose what she wanted and ordered. Once the waiter left again, she looked around the restaurant. The place was filling quickly with people and chatter. There was soft music playing from the live band on the stage, which was dimly lit.
All of a sudden, Hermione felt like she was being watched. She looked around her, trying to find the culprit but found no one. She quickly went on examining the restaurant. She just then realized that the restaurant was French. The signs were written in French, with English following after to translate, the artwork on the walls were paintings of the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, La Santa Capella, and other French places.
'Must be because our first stop is in France.'
The waiter soon brought her food and she began to eat. Soon after she started eating her Lentil, Garbanzo and Tomato Salad, and then Chicken Cordon Blue, she felt like she was being watched again.
'I'm probably just being paranoid.' She shrugged it off as she finished her dinner. Soon after she was done, with her plate, the waiter took it away for her and brought out her desert of Crème Brulee. She ate it while a little of her conscious was aware of the culprit watching her so she only enjoyed the tasty desert a little.
When she finally finished all her dinner, desert and two cups of tea, she tipped the waiter and left. She had asked the waiter where a club was located on the cruise and so she went on her way.
Outside the club, it was really quiet, but as soon as Hermione opened the door, it was the exact opposite. Music was blaring loudly; different colors of fire would change from red to blue to green and so on, in the torches around the club. It was packed with witches and wizards dancing, sitting, drinking and trying to talk over the loud music.
Despite all the noise, Hermione walked inside. She found the bar near the back of the club and sat down on one of the stools surrounding the bar. She ordered an 'Adult' Pumpkin Juice from the bartender and looked around, trying to find someone to talk to. There was a table of five nearby. They were chatting and laughing as one guy told them something, using gestures with his hands as he spoke.
She continued to look around and spotted a guy looking at her. At first glance, Hermione thought he was kind of cute with his black hair, dark brown eyes and a fit body. But as he smiled at her, she was not impressed with his yellow teeth. Her parents, being dentists, would not approve of this man's clearly lack of personal hygiene. Despite this, she found herself smiling back weakly at him.
Just her luck, the guy seemed to take her not-so-much-smile as an invitation to join her. Hermione mentally cringed at the thought.
"Hi, my name is William. May I buy you a drink?" Hermione turned away as the bar tender brought her Pumpkin Juice. "Or at least buy you a refill?"
She took a sip of it, thankful for a distraction from the guy. She smiled apologetically.
"I would love to but I'm meeting somebody. Sorry." She added as she saw the disappointment flash across his face.
"It's alright, maybe another time." He smiled politely before walking away. Hermione felt bad but she soon was looking around the club again. Not having much luck finding anyone else to talk to, she paid the bartender for her drink and left.
Outside was quiet and peaceful. She walked to the railing and peered out at the darkened sky. The only thing that occupied the sky was the moon, half-hidden behind dark clouds.
As she stood out on the deck, gazing at the view, she thought of the day she had.
'It's a little lonely with no one to talk to but they did have the great service at the spa and I just loved the treatments. Tomorrow, I'll go to the gym in the morning and check out the pools after. There's also that itinerary I can look at to figure out what else I could do.'
She soon decided to start to head back to her room. She walked to the teleport area inside. As she stepped in, she wasn't the only person, besides Derek, another teleporter. There was a woman, who seemed to be about the same age as Hermione, who stood with the look of elegance and poise. She smiled and said hello to Hermione, who returned her hello.
"My name is Payton Buel. Are you traveling with anyone?" Payton asked in a polite manner, while offering her hand.
"Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you." She replied as they shook hands. "And no I am not traveling with anyone. And you?"
"No, my fiancé was supposed to join me, but he had a lot of work he needed to catch up on at the office."
"Oh that's too bad, this cruise is great so far." Payton agreed as they came to a stop at Hermione's floor.
"I know we just met and we don't know each other, but I was wondering if you would like to meet tomorrow morning for a cup of coffee and talk some more?" Payton asked with questioning eyes.
Hermione gladly accepted since she was looking for some company. They bid each other goodnight and Hermione went to her room.
As soon as she got inside, she brushed her teeth and got ready for bed and grabbed her newest book she had started reading only a week ago. Not soon after, she was engrossed in her favorite pastime, next to being with her friends.
She finally went to sleep around midnight, oblivious to everything happening on the rest of the ship.
A/N: I would like to dedicate this chapter to my first 4 reviewers! Thanks! You actually gave me some ideas for this story. I'm still not quite sure how I want to go about this story yet, but we'll see!