CHAPTER TWO : - )
"Write heaps" Harry whispered in my ear as he hugged me.
"I will" I promised as I tried to stop myself from crying. I never was that good at goodbyes.
"Watch your back" Ron said as he hugged me. We had sorted out our fight last night when I had arrived back home from shopping.
"I was going to anyway" I smiled. He moved and Bill hugged me.
"You'll do fine. Just remember to come back as our Hermione and not some snob" Bill said.
"Of course I will" I said seriously.
"I'll hold you to that" Bill smirked.
"Alright…so…how am I getting there?" I asked nervously.
"Well, the hotel –although it's only for magical beings- is situated in muggle France. So you'll arrive by a form of muggle transport" Bill said.
"So it's like the Leaky cauldron?" I asked.
"More or less" Bill shrugged.
"Well then, wouldn't all of the muggles notice all these people suddenly walking into nothing?" I asked raising an eyebrow. Surely they would suspect something, especially with the amount of people attending the convention.
"Oh no, what I meant was that it had a magical trick just like the Leaky cauldron. The sign permanently says 'No Vacancy' and instead of looking like the best hotel you are likely to see, it looks like some dodgy motel that just had a floor added to it, and in the case that a muggle goes to book a room as a last resort, the price still stays the same as always"
"Clever" I murmured. At least the muggles wouldn't get suspicious about a hundred people disappearing into thin air.
"Ok, so what type of muggle transport am I taking?" I asked.
"A…lino or something…" Bill said with a confused look on his face.
"A limo…" I murmured, dumbstruck. "Are you serious?!" I laughed and hugged Bill tightly.
"What's the big deal" He asked, laughing a bit at my reaction.
"Oh, sorry" I murmured, although I definitely didn't look it. "It's just that I've never been in a limo before. Never been able to afford it"
"Oh" He said. I knew he still had no idea what I was on.
"Ok…So when is the limo arriving?" I asked happily.
"Should be here any minute now" Bill said, checking his wristwatch. "Ok, now we have Kingsley driving the limo-thing for you, he's taking Polyjuice potion just before you guys leave"
"Ok, cool" I said, my nerves suddenly making their way back to me.
"You going to be alright?" he asked.
"I will be, but, Oh God, I'm so nervous Bill. I feel like I'm going to be sick or something" I said, looking at him with uncertainty.
"Do you want me to come with you in the…car?" He asked. I laughed at the way he tried not to say 'limo' just in case he got it wrong.
"I'd like that" I smiled, my nerves easing a little knowing that the wait there wouldn't be all that bad now. Suddenly the sound of a car horn sounded from outside.
"I believe that is for us" Bill said, picking up my suitcases. I began to walk with him but spun around just as we reached the door and ran back to the bottom of the stairs where Harry and Ron were standing and flung myself in their arms. I kissed both of their cheeks and let go of them, running back to Bill and heading out the door without a glance back in fear that I'd change my mind about the assignment.
Bill loaded my stuff in the back of the limo for me while I took a deep breath of fresh air to calm down my once again racing nerves.
"Nervous?" I heard a deep voice say. I looked over to the front of the car. There stood Kingsley shacklebolt, as always he looked like he was either angry or depressed. I could tell his mood by the tone of his voice though.
"God yes" I said, closing my eyes and taking another breath of air. I heard a slight chuckle come from him.
"Ok, time to go" It was Bill's voice. I opened my eyes to see him standing next to me. He courteously opened the door of the limo for me. I hopped in, gasping at the sight of the inside. There were two seats at the back and then a whole line of seats that were joined, lining one whole side of the limo. I sat on the long seat, Bill sat next to me. I looked across from us at the wooden table and TV and wine glasses and wine. It was definitely for someone richer then me. That thought made me feel like crap. I had to feel like I was superior; I had to act like I was. I knew I did.
The limo starting moving and the urge to fling open the door and jump out grew larger, but I controlled myself…by having a glass of wine.
"That's the only one you're getting" Bill said sternly. He wasn't one in favor of someone drinking before a mission, one drink too many could ruin everything we've worked for, I understood that.
"Better make it last then" I grinned. He chuckled slightly.
The longer I waited to arrive the more I felt like I was being smothered. Was this normal to feel when you were went on a mission for something more important then you could possibly imagine? Shit! That thought didn't help…
"Bill?" I said suddenly. He stopped looking out of the window and looked me in the eyes immediately. "How nervous were you on your first assignment for the order?" I asked. He thought about it for a moment.
"Well…my first assignment was to act slave boy to Snape at a death eater gathering. I was so nervous that I would ruin everything that I was shaking like mad, as it were it made it very convincing because they thought that I was simply afraid that he was going to cast an unforgivable on me. Of course I had been drinking a Polyjuice potion so I looked like a 13 year-old boy, otherwise the death eaters would have noticed my Weasley hair immediately. God, I remember how afraid I was that the Polyjuice potion was going to wear off and my red hair would come first…" I gave a small smile.
"I can't imagine you shaking out of fear" I murmured. He smiled and shrugged. That was something I liked about Bill, he wasn't ashamed of anything he had done, in his eyes everything he had done had made him the person he was today and he was happy with that. We sat in silence for the rest of the trip.
When the car came to a stop I started to panic.
"I don't think I can do this Bill" I said again and again. He pulled me into a hug and didn't let go of me until I'd settled down.
"You can do anything you put your mind to Hermione, that's one of the things that makes you so special" He smiled. I smiled and hugged him again before taking a deep breath and stepping out of the limo.
The hotel looked absolutely beautiful from where I was, yet muggles were walking past more interested in me then the magnificent building before them.
"Hello" I said to a small child he muttered a quick 'Bon jour' before running off. I was stunned for a moment. I had forgotten that I was in France, mainly because the car-trip had been so smooth, I couldn't remember feeling the jolt as we changed locations like the Knight Bus did.
All this was wiped from my mind as a couple of men made their way through the doors and out to the limo to grab my luggage. I waved my hand to the part of the car that my bags were, not trusting my voice at the moment.
I looked back at Bill and Kingsley once more. Kingsley gave a small smile and a nod of his head whereas Bill winked. I smiled at the both of them before making my way through the doors of the hotel.
For that day I had decided to wear knee-high black stiletto boots and a black coat that went down as far as to allow the view of a bit of skin before the boots. Underneath the coat I was wearing a black mid-thigh V-neck dress with long sleeves. I was trying to seem mysterious, but even more so I was trying to impress.
My eyes subtly scanned the lobby. There were many witches and wizards that I didn't recognize and many I regrettably did recognize. At last my eyes rested on the reason I was here.
Draco Malfoy was leaning casually against one of the check-in desks talking to one of his friends that I recognized from school. I walked over to the desk next to his and waited to be served.
"What do you mean you dumped Pansy?" Blaise asked disapproval obvious in his voice.
"I mean I ended my relationship with the whore" Draco said snidely.
"May I ask why?" Blaise asked.
"Because she's annoying and boring, not to mention she was embarrassing to have around" Draco said, sounding quite embarrassed as he spoke.
"Shame I suppose, she had a nice ass" Blaise commented. Draco snorted.
"But seriously mate, you've really got to stop going through all of these women" Once again Draco snorted.
I stared hard at the desk in front of me, my brain in overdrive until it came to a conclusion. Malfoy had never had a challenge, he got all the women he wanted, maybe the reason he kept going through all these women was because they were too easy, maybe it was about time he had bit of a challenge?
"Madam" I was broken out of my thoughts as a man finally came to serve me. I was quite surprised that he wasn't French. As far as I knew there were only very few staff members in this hotel that were not French. Thank God I had come across one of them, after Fleur Delacour, I cringed every time I spoke to someone French, mainly because it reminded me of Fleur.
"I'm just checking in" I said, making sure not to over-play the importance in my voice. I wanted to act superior, not like a complete snob.
"Very well, what's your name?" He asked, opening a large book.
"Rosalie Aisuru" For once, I wasn't going to kill Bill. I quite liked the name that had been given to me for this assignment.
"Ah yes" The man said, running his finger down a certain page and stopping. "You are in room 412 on the sixth floor. Your key" He said, taking a key from a draw and handing it to me. "Please enjoy your stay"
"Thank you" I said, placing the key in my coat pocket. I walked away from the desk and purposely shoved past Draco. I could feel eyes on my back as I walked towards the stairs. I smirked.
Although I was walking up a great deal of stairs, it felt like I had only walked up six stairs when I reached my floor. I had read about illusion charms, they could be very handy in a place like this. It also explained why the hotel did not have elevators.
I looked at a sign that said which number doors were down which corridor. I followed the correct one until I found a door with the number '412' on it in gleaming gold.
Taking out my key I pushed it into the lock and turned it. I was rather excited to see the inside of my room. Pushing the door open I looked around in awe.
The room –despite being huge- looked cozy. The bed was large and decorated in the colours white and gold. It was not situated in the centre of the room like most usually were, but it was off to the side a bit. In the centre were three white sofas that were situated in front of a large fireplace that was currently lit. There was a coffee table in-between the middle sofa and the fireplace. On the side closest the door was a small bar that held all of the liquor. Over next to the bed on the side nearer the door were two doors. I walked over to them and flung them open. Behind those doors was a bathroom. It was huge. The bath was the size of a pool, just like the prefects bath had been. There were three sinks, a large shower, a toilet and mirrors lining a good part of the bathroom. There was also another door. I opened it and behind it was a massive walk-in wardrobe. I left the bathroom and re-entered my room. I walked out onto the balcony and took in the beautiful view of France. Looking down I could see a good many pools. So I had gotten thousands of bikinis for good reason.
I walked back into my bedroom and fell onto my bed with a sigh. So this might be a little bit of fun…
I wasn't on my bed much longer as I jumped up in fright as I heard a crack. There on the floor were my bags. I sighed in relief and walked over to them, ready to start unpacking.
I managed to get all of my clothes, underwear, hand-bags and shoes into my wardrobe within the hour. I put my other accessories in the bathroom drawers. I then moved on to my other bags. I took out a large novel I was currently reading and put it on the bedside table. I then placed a few other things in my bed-side table drawers. I at last came to my last bag. I opened it and looked at the assignment equipment that it held. Bill had already told me that he had gone through a lot of trouble to make sure I was placed in the room next to Malfoy's, but I was yet to find out which side exactly he was on. Until then, the equipment was better off being left in the bag.
Finally knowing that I was free to relax I took off my coat and folded it over one of the sofas. I sat down on my bed and read my book for a while, all the time listening intently for a sign of life outside my door. It was half an hour later that it came. I heard two laughs, they were incredibly loud. I recognized them immediately as Blaise and Draco. I took the chance offered and waited until they were a bit closer before I got off of my bed and made my way over to my door. I took a deep breath before actually opening it. I was noticed immediately.
"Can we help you?" Draco asked. I rolled my eyes as both Draco and Blaise's eyes traveled down my body, taking in my dress, which was unbearably short, yet long enough to not make me look like an unsophisticated slut…like Pansy Parkinson.
"Yes, in fact you can" I said, my voice sounded almost sweet, yet with a bit of bitterness in it.
"And how is that?" Blaise asked, deciding he needed to get his two dollars worth in.
"You can try lowering your voices and start respecting that other people don't really care what you're talking about" I didn't sound annoyingly rude, in fact I had managed to keep up that same bitter-sweet voice. Blaise and Draco looked surprised, well; at least their eyebrows were raised.
"Of course" Blaise said politely with a nod of his head.
"Well, besides that, you sure there isn't anything else that you would…ah…like?" Draco asked seductively, a smirk on his face. I smirked back like I was more then interested in what he had to say then said…
"No" I walked back to my door then turned back to face them, unable to bear not seeing the look on their faces. "I'm positive" I then shut the door.
The looks on their faces had been so hilarious that I had wanted to laugh right then and there, instead, I was laughing now. Blaise had looked in shock, yet he sort of saw the funny side to it. Draco had looked confused, shocked and partly angry; he obviously wasn't used to getting rejected.
But all fun didn't go without punishment, and mine was that I hadn't been able to figure out which was his room. He had been standing right in front of my door, for all I knew Blaise could have been staying in a room further down the corridor and they were heading there, it was highly possible since the boys probably would have requested that they stayed on the same floor to save the hassle of walking around different floors of the hotel in the early morning when one of them went to go back to their own room…probably drunk.
I wasn't left to ponder much on anything as two seconds later there was an annoying tapping sound coming from the balcony. I raced over and opened the door, allowing an owl in. The owl hooted happily as he felt the warmth of the room. He held out his leg and I took the note that was attached. Unrolling the small bit of paper I read it:
Miss you already!
H & R
I wanted to cry. Harry and Ron –although it was obviously Harry's idea- were so sweet, it reminded me why I loved them so much. I quickly grabbed a bit of parchment from my drawer along with a quill and some ink.
And you know I miss you. You're so sweet guys…don't make me want to come back!
Love you always
'Rosalie' xoxo
I was happy enough with that, and they would be as well…for now. I rolled it up and attached it to the owl's leg.
"Take this to Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley" I said, stroking the beautiful creature before it took flight out of the doors. I sighed as I watched it fly for a while before finally deciding that I needed something to do. My eyes immediately landed on the bathroom doors.
I gathered up my stuff and entered the bathroom. Leaving my wand on the basin top I began to undress, folding the clothes over the towel-rack, paranoid that I was going to ruin them. I then turned on the taps of the bath. Within seconds the bath was full of hot soapy water. I dived in, almost melting at how good it felt. I swam a couple of laps around the bath just for fun before settling against the side of the large bath and closing my eyes. It was utter bliss; I wished it could last forever.
It didn't.
My bath time was interrupted as I heard a knock at the door. I quickly dried myself off and threw on a white silken bathrobe that reached an inch or so above the knees that Harry had convinced me to get.
I opened the door and was greeted by a man.
"Can I help you?" I said uncertainly. It wasn't exactly something I liked to say whilst wearing a short silk robe.
"I am just informing you of ze welcoming dance being 'eld in ze lobby at seven pm" He said, handing me a piece of paper.
"Thank you" I said politely, he bowed and walked off.
"Save me a dance?" I looked up. Draco Malfoy was leaning against the doorframe of the room on the left of me with a smirk on his face.
"Possibly" I replied, letting the hand holding the piece of paper fall to my side.
"Possibly?" He said, pushing away from the doorframe with a raised eyebrow and coming to stand in front of me.
"Yes possibly, I don't even know who you are" I argued.
"Oh of course, how rude of me, I am Draco Malfoy" He said, mocking the hotel worker with his bow. I suppressed a smile and raised my eyebrows instead.
"Draco Malfoy…I cannot say I've heard of you before" I said, laughing inside as his face turned into one of confusion and partly anger.
"That's strange…There's not many purebloods that haven't heard the Malfoy name at least once in their lifetime" Draco said, slightly through gritted teeth. He seemed angrier at the fact that I didn't know him then he did at me.
"I'm sorry, have I done something wrong?" I almost scowled. He looked at me with surprise as if only just realizing that his anger was apparent.
"Not at all" He said, replacing the anger with charm. "Now, what is your name?"
"Does it really matter to you?" I said almost immediately. He looked taken aback by this reply.
"Well…yes…it is only natural that one would want to know the name of someone so beautiful-" He stopped abruptly as I laughed and shook my head. I began to walk back into my room.
"Wait!" He called out. "Will you save me a dance?"
"Possibly" was all I replied before I closed the door. Once inside I laughed and fell onto my bed. Not only had I found out which room he stayed in, but now I also knew that he was curious about me.
This gave me a lot of faith in how well I would do on this mission. I had managed to make the biggest 'Sex God' curious about me, not just interested in my looks, but curious about my whole personality as well. Not bad for someone who had been wearing a bathrobe and had had dripping wet hair while in his presence.
I smiled one more time before getting up and walking into my wardrobe. It was time to get ready for the dance.
A/n: Ah, hello. It's really weird writing this story as I've never written a story where things happen so quickly, but I've decided that each chapter should have something interesting happen in them. Anyway, the main reason of this author's note was how to say the name 'Aisuru' it is said 'ICE-U (u sound like 'Uluru')-ROO' (Dear lord my explanation of how to say the word was so bloody Australian…blinks) ok yeah, that's all: D