Hello readers! Thank you so much for the reveiws! Please, I would love whoever reads to leave a review, it really motivates me to update quicker! Oh, and just to clarify some confusion, Alex in chapter one, the injured boy, isn't the same Alex in chapter 2! Okay, hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does. Annoyingly.
Chapter 3 - Arrangements
Hermione
I dragged myself into the office, after much debating whether to actually come into work or not. I trudged over to the office I shared with Emily, not making eye contact with my fellow colleagues, avoiding the questions that I was certain would be asked. I lifted my feet wearily, my hair falling out of the pony tail completely and falling around my shoulders. I tucked a few strands behind my ears, and stepped towards the glass door to my office. I pushed open the door with my right hand, and stumbled into the glass room.
The office that I shared with Em, really was beautiful. We had designed it together, both of us sharing similar tasted when it came to the office design and furniture. The main and most amazing feature was the window, that stretched from one side of the room, and right to the ceiling. It was completely seamless, and had no fingerprints, because I religiously cleaned it when somebody dared touch it. I actually looked like there was no wall there at all, and if you stepped to close, you would actually fall off the side of the building.
The door I had stepped through was also embedded in another glass wall. This glass though, was really very special. At the flick of a switch, you could completely darken the screen, and prevent anybody from seeing in, and from seeing out yourself! You could also edit it so you could see out, but nobody else could see in. This little tool had come in useful when spying on our co - workers, we had found out many secrets about what they thought of us. It was almost magical how the screen could effectively block out the world.
We had two solid walls in our office, at either end, right and left. Or, in other words, Emily's side, and my side. Those two walls were painted white, but the color could only be seen on Emily's side, as mine was completely covered with mahogany bookshelves, bursting with old books, new books, every book I had ever read, pretty much, as Alex would not let me keep the books in our new apartment. The mahogany theme was continued in the form of my humongous desk, which was so beautiful and smooth to touch. On it were huge piles of paperwork, weighed down by all sorts of different things, little ornaments, picture frames, pairs of glasses, whatever I could find.
In the middle of the room was a large, velvet, red sofa, accompanied by two cream armchairs, and a coffee table that was the center of everything. On it, there used to be a lovely bouquet of flowers, lilies to be precise, Emily's favorite flower. It had just proved inconvenient, though, as we centered ourselves around it, and the flowers just ended up getting in the way. When you were sat in the little seating area in our expansive office, you could look out, and watch over the city that we lived in.
I had only been back in London a couple of months, after travelling to work in Belfast for the company. That, in fact was where I had met Emily. She worked for the same company, only in Belfast, where I had been sent to do some specialist work, as they had no need for me in London. I was on the phone to Alex every night, until I met her. She soon became my best friend, and my colleague, with whom I worked incredibly well with. She was carefree and spontaneous, whereas I was shy and conservative. She kept me fun, and happy, when it seemed like there was no room for anything but sadness. Her laugh was infectious, and as partners, we could easily solve a case, as I paid attention to detail, and she was quick, and sharp minded.
It felt amazing to be back in England, after spending six months away from home. Alex, though seemed different since I had gotten back. He was distant, and disinterested in most things that I had to say. When I first moved in with him, he wouldn't let me sleep in a four poster bed, something which I had no reason for, but felt like a comfort blanket, I needed it. He eventually relented after much of my pleading, but never really seemed over the whole incident. I shook off the thoughts of Alex and limped over to the sitting area.
I collapsed onto a plush, cream chair, and allowed my head to loll back, and my stiff back to relax. I dropped my bag to the floor, and just laid still, thinking about what had happened to me this morning. The man, Ron, with his pale, pale skin and hair like flames in a bonfire. His eyes were like endless showers of cool sapphires, contrasting with his hair, like hot and cold. He had helped me when I needed it so badly, even though he'd never met me before in his life. However, the whole time I was with him felt like a 'deja vu', like it had all happened before.
I heard the opening of a door, and then the disgruntled tutting as the person behind me rustled through papers, clearly searching for something.
"Em?" I heard a gasp, then the smash of a mug hitting the floor. "Is that you?" I craned my neck so I could see the person who stood in our office. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw a figure on he floor, desperately trying to clean up he mess she had made. Her glossy black reflected the light, so her hair looked as if it were actually glowing. When she stood, she tipped the porcelain into a bin by her desk, then turned so she was facing me.
She rushed over and embraced me in a warm hug, practically falling on top of me from where I sat. She leaned back, grabbed my hands and pulled me up so I was standing.
"Do you have any idea how much you just scared me." She squeaked, the Irish in her voice coming through strongly. I shook my head.
"Sorry..." I mumbled, shakily still holding Emily's hands for support. She looked me up and down, and pushed me onto the sofa, never once letting go of my trembling fingers. The moment my body made contact with the cushions, I let go of her supportive grasp, and allowed myself to sink back into the red velvet. I closed my eyes, counted to ten, and then opened the again, to see Emily rifling through a chest at the end of the sofa. She grabbed whatever it was she was looking for, and tossed it onto the sofa. An unopened box of chocolates.
She scurried off behind me, I could hear the twisting and clicks of Emily attempt to black out the windows, so we could have a private conversation. When she hurried back over, she took the chocolates in her lap and reached out for my hand, grasping it between her little fingers. Her hazel - grey eyes were full of concern and worry, her cheeks were flushed and pink, her lips pursed . It was obvious she had no idea what could have, and did happen. She only uttered one word, but it had he power to move me to tears.
"Spill."
Draco
"What?" My heart was pounding in my chest, and my attention was completely focused on the out of breath Weasley. Surely what he had just said couldn't be true.
"I found her, Malfoy." He said the words slowly, dragging them out, treating me like I was stupid and hadn't hear the words before.
"Yes - I got that Weasley." I stuttered slightly. "Wh- How? When? Where?" The words tumbled out of my mouth all at once, as if the were trying to win a race.
"Follow me." He beckoned for me to follow in his footsteps as he walked left, down the corridor.
I was confused but stumbled after him, my mind turning circles, round and round. I followed him down the corridor, weaving through all sorts of people, who bid me 'Good Day!' or advanced on me to ask me about different reports due in. I ignored everything going on around me, and continued the journey to where ever, quickening my pace. When we stopped, I realized we were outside Potter's office. Ron burst through the door, much like he had only minutes ago, in my office.
Harry was sat at his desk, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration, until he saw the explosion, that was Ron. He jumped up from his seat and ran over to his best friend, wand drawn, his emerald green eyes flashed with concern and worry. I meekly traipsed into the room, and seated myself in one of the chairs that sat in front of Harry's desk. Harry ushered Ron to sit in the chair next to me, then seated himself on his large, black chair behind the desk. He rested his elbows on the desk, and stared at the two of us.
"What happened, Ron? Draco?" Harry asked, his voice for once firm and steady as he asked a question.
"Well," Ron glanced at me, before continuing. "I found her Harry." Ron sighed, making me even more confused. Shouldn't we all be celebrating finally finding her?
"You did?" Harry was beaming, clearly not understanding the tone that Ron had just used.
"Yes, of course, Harry. I wouldn't joke about something like this." Ron, again turned to look at me, but then back to Harry.
"Isn't that a good thing? Where is she now?" Harry's smile was still plastered across his face.
"She didn't know who I was Harry." Ron looked towards his feet, and sat back in his chair, exhausted. "She didn't remember me." Harry's smile was wiped from his lips, and instead, an expression of sadness dominated his face. She didn't remember Ron. Her best friend. Someone she had loved for 6 years, now had no idea who he was. My heart sank in my chest. If she didn't remember Ron, would she remember me? I heard Harry's quiet voice, interrupting my thoughts.
"What do we do now?" I closed my eyes ad just listened to the conversation between the two.
"Well, she gave me a card, with numbers on it, that you have to call, she said. I'm not sure." I heard a rustling, ad assumed Ron had pulled whatever card he had been talking about from his pocket.
"Tell me from the beginning. Everything." Harry told Ron, and he so obliged. I heard as Ron told Harry of how he first met her in a lift, thinking she was insanely recognizable, but he just thought it was somebody who looked extremely similar to her. How as she walked away, he winked at her, (I winced at that though) how she suddenly collapsed in a heap, squirming and writhing on the floor. He had helped her onto the couch in the lobby, thinking it was maybe his fault, but she woke after about five to ten minutes, and apologized for the incident. He then told Harry of when she asked him to go for a coffee, but he declined, as after all, he was late for work, and needed to tell us that he found her, so she gave him the card with numbers and told him to call at a certain time. My mind was reeling, especially when he told how he kissed her cheek, and she wriggled away.
At that point I opened my eyes, and sat forward, and shot a nasty glare at Ron. He continued anyway, to tell us how she just walked away, leaving him there, which was when he raced here as fast as possible, forgetting to apperate in his haste. Harry had leaned back in his chair, the opposite to what me and Ron were doing, and was twiddling with his quill.
I ran a hand through my hair, before resting my head in my hands, not letting myself well up.
"What do we do now then?" I finally spoke up.
"Well, I guess Ron should call her." Harry replied, I could tell he was already plotting and planning out something in his head. "Go for dinner with her,you could try and find out just how much she knows, how much she remembers. If anything..." Harry trailed off, in his mind contemplating all the possible outcomes and possibilities.
"Okay, fine. I'm going to go ask Dad if he has any phones, or whatever you said Harry. I'll see you in a few minutes." Ron stood up and left the room, leaving me Harry alone. We exchanged an awkward moment of silence, before Harry finally spoke up.
"She might still remember you, Draco." Whenever Harry used my first name, I knew that something was bad. I scowled, twisting my face into a sneer.
"Pfft. You know as well as I do that she probably has no idea who I am." I sighed, but was careful not to drop the smooth, Malfoy facade.
"You never know." Harry murmured, obviously trying to hang onto happier thoughts.
"I just love her." I looked to the ceiling, then back at Harry.
"More than I can tell you. It is like a piece of my soul has been taken from me, that I know I can never have back."
Hermione
"Oh my goodness, Hermione! Another dream?" Emily exclaimed, waving her hands about in her shock.
"I know, Em,"I said, holding down my friends hands, so they weren't flying all over the place. "It was longer though, longer than the others I've had." I could see Emily was about to butt in, and ask questions, so I put up my hand to silence her. "You know the bit when it used to end?" Emily nodded. "The bit where I just saw the boy on the tower, and then I fell?" Emily nodded vigorously again."Well, I saw the whole scene this time. Everything that happened...apart from at the very end." Emily's mouth had dropped open.
"When I burst through the door, and saw the boy, another man was there, with exactly the same color blonde hair as the boy. They were father and son." I recalled. "The father had been torturing the boy, and he could barely move." I was trying to remember every exact detail of the dream. "The man called me a 'Mudblood'. I have no idea what it means, but I was offended by it. I told him to get away from the boy, that I used a love potion on him, but I didn't." I racked my brains, trying to remember what happened next. "I was holding a wooden stick, same as last time, but the man pushed me against a pillar, and I dropped it all the way to the ground. When he released me, the boy was standing next to him."
I looked up at Emily who was clutching my hand, egging me on to continue. "He was so handsome, even covered with bruises and cuts. But he could do nothing, he was bound by ropes that I am guessing his father had tied. The man then raised his stick, everybody seemed to have one, and pointed it at me. Then, I saw this flash of red light, and then pain. So much pain." I winced, remembering the feeling of a thousand swords slashing their way through my body. "It felt like hours until the pain was lifted, and I was somehow, I really don't know how it was possible, hoisted into the air by invisible strings and held there." Emily held my hand tighter, anxious to find out what happened next in the dream. I continued.
"Then the boy, still in the ropes, asked his father if he could speak to me. His eyes were so full of fear, Em. I can't describe. He just turned to me, ignoring his fathers presence, as he wouldn't leave, and he made a speech." I paused. The speech was the one thing in the dream which I could remember perfectly, clear as day.
"So? What did he say?" Emily tugged on my arm
"I can't...remember." I had always been a terrible liar, this fact was proven true when Emile raised one eyebrow and shook her head.
"Yes you do. Now tell me Hermione." She squeezed my fingers again, it was comforting and made me feel safe, knowing I could trust her. I looked down before I started to speak.
"Okay, you have to promise not to tell anyone though. When he stepped forward, he said, 'I beg you, please, never forget me in your heart. I will always remember the way your nose crinkles when I compliment you, when I tell you just how unbelievably beautiful you are. The way you get so absorbed in a book, and always end up falling asleep on my shoulder while we lay by the Great Lake, and I would have to carry you back up to your house, only to be greeted by Ron who would yell at me tirelessly for bringing you back so late...I could never bring myself to move you though, you looked so peaceful when you sleep. You never looked peaceful when you were awake. The feeling of your lips against mine, you kissed me in a way that I never even imagined, and taught me to feel things that I thought I would never even lay my eyes upon. The smell of your vanilla perfume, your hair that can never be tamed, like a lions mane, the curly mess that is feather soft against my skin. You fill the gaps between my fingers, you are my better half. I love you. So much, more than anything, yet I know that I could never give you everything that you would so desire, and need from a man, and from life itself. I wish I could, and I would spend my whole life trying to make you feel the same way. For you have made my life worth living, given me a purpose. I will always love you. I will never forget the times we shared. You'll be in my heart for eternity.' "
When I twisted my head so I was looking at Emily again, I saw tears streaming down her pink cheeks. I too had tears running down the side of my face, as recited the rest of the dream. "He was crying. I was crying. I then suddenly felt myself fall, and hit the floor, and when I looked up, he was too free of his imprisonment that had caged him. We just ran to each other, held each other. I never wanted to let go. I whispered in his ear, 'I love you. I need you. I'll never forget'. I kissed his cheek, and slipped away from his hold. I walked, using every last ounce of strength I had so I was facing the man. He merely said 'He really loves you Mudblood.' That was when I felt a jab, and everything black. I was falling." I took a deep breath "That was when I woke up."
Emily embraced me in a warm, comforting hug, before leaning back, and wiping a tear that was falling down my cheek. I then went on to tell her about the man, Ron, and the weird vision-dream thing, how Ron was in my dream. Shen was the one person I could talk to about this kind of thing, even though she may not ever completely understand, she always did her best, and always cheered me up quickly.
"So, was he good looking?" She waggled her eyebrows. I laughed softly.
"He wasn't like that. He was like, something I didn't realize I'd missed until he was there." I sighed, it had been an eventful morning.
"I see." She winked at me, clearly getting the wrong idea. "I'm joking." She chuckled, popping a chocolate into her mouth and giggling. I was just about to grab a pillow, and throw it at her, when the phone started to ring.
Emily jumped up, and ran over to the phone, picked it up, and said in her best work voice,
"Hello, Emily Roberts' Office, what can I help you with?" She paused, obviously listening to the person at the other end of the phone speaking. I watched as the corners of mouth turned up, into a grin. "Yes, she's just here, could you just hold for one moment please?...Thank you." She put the phone to her chest, so the sound would be muffled from the other end.
"Who is it?" I groaned as Emily twirled with the the telephone cord.
"It's Ron Weasley." I jumped up and snatched the phone from Emily, who was giggling like a schoolgirl. I was suddenly alive with energy.
"Hello, this is Hermione speaking." I spoke into the phone, attempting to remove any trace of quivering after I had been crying at the dream. That boy had been so in love with me, and I had been with him, it seemed impossible.
"Hello? Hello? Hi- Oh wait, okay." I heard his voice on the other side of the phone., followed by some 'shushing' "Uh, hi Hermione." He sounded confused.
"Are you okay?" I asked, wondering if much trouble was going on down his end of the phone.
"Yep. All good." He wasn't a convincing liar, much like me, but I decided to not ask anything more. "Would you like to go to dinner tonight?" He eventually got out, I could hear heavy breathing from down the phone.
"Yes, that would be...nice." I smiled. "What time, and where do you want me to meet you?"I asked, already worrying about what Alex might think about me going for dinner with another man.
"I'll pick you up. Meet me in the apartments foyer at, say half seven?" He sounded cool and confident now. I tried to make a map of what I was doing today and in the evening. As far as I was concerned, I had nothing planned.
"Okay." I decided that anything that was happening could wait, I needed to find out more about the man who I was sure I had seen in my dream. The man who kissed my cheek. "I'll see you then. Bye."
"Goodbye Hermione."
With that I hung up, and walked behind my desk, plonking myself down at my desk. I looked over to Emily who was too at her desk, studying her computer screen, reading something, apparently. She glanced up at me, slipped on her glasses, and raised her eyebrows, looking at me above her glasses rims. This made her look like an old librarian giving me the hint that it was time to leave the library.
"I'm going for dinner with him tonight. He's picking me up at half past seven. No, I don't know where we're going. Happy?" She nodded, a smile stretching across her face. I swiveled in my chair, and changed the setting of the glass so we could see out, but nobody could see in.
"Ms. Field is going to kill you, Hermione." I looked up at Emily, who was gazing out the window into the offices, where Ms. Field was charging towards us.
"Oh no." I whispered.
After a long argument with Ms. Field, and a day that seemed to drag by, crawling as slowly as possible, I felt exhausted. Lunch had been disgusting, so I only had a cup of tea and a sandwich at my desk. I had, though, managed to get done 3 reports, but Emily and I were no further along on the 'Grace Miller' case. I checked my emails, and replied to an expansive, never ending message sent to me from Johnathon Drayller. When I checked the time, I saw that it was already six o'clock.
"Em?" She was chewing on the end of her glasses, deep in though.
"Hmm?" She grunted.
"I have to go, get ready for tonight. I'm so sorry, I'll work late tomorrow with you, promise." I stood up, and picked up my bag, quickly repacking up some files, before shoving it quickly on my shoulder. I walked across the office to give Emily a hug, but she never looked up from the papers she was reading. She waved her hand, as if to say, 'Whatever, just go.'
"Go." She said when I didn't move, finally looking up, and pushing me towards the door with her leg.
I hurried down and out of the offices, and ran through the crowds of people, not bothering to put on my light coat, as the evening was so warm. When I reached the apartments, I didn't bother taking the lift, and just ran for the stairs. As I reached the door, I fumbled in my bag until I found my keys. When I did, I efficiently pushed the key into the lock, and strode into the apartment. All the lights were off, so I assumed that Alex was out. I hung up my coat on the coat rack, and tossed the keys on to the chest on my right. I kicked off my shoes by the door, and flicked on the lights as I walked through our home.
When I reached our bedroom, I collapsed onto the bed, stretching out, and sinking into the mattress. I started to unbutton my shirt still lying down, for I was too lazy to stand up. Once I had removed my light, summery shirt, I stood, to take off my work trousers, and I was standing just in a vest and underwear, I pulled out my hair from the messy pony tail, even though there wasn't much to take down any way, as most of my hair had already fallen out of the loose hairband.I grabbed a towel and my dressing gown, and headed through to he bathroom. As I did so, I flipped on the radio. I was never somebody who was into to the mainstream POP music, I much preferred classical, or smooth music. I left the door to the bathroom open, as I was the only one home, and Alex wouldn't be back for a while, I hoped.
When I stepped into the shower, and felt the scalding hot water trickling down my back, it seemed to relieve me of all the stress and worry I had been feeling. I vigorously washed my hair, determined that this time, my new anti - frizz shampoo would work. Every other one I had attempted to use, had usually resulted in worsening the frizz.
As I carefully got out the shower, making sure I wouldn't slip on the tiled floor, I caught sight of my hair in the mirror. I had been trying, my whole life, to find a decent shampoo, but it just seemed to much to ask. I sighed, and pulled a warm, fluffy towel around me, followed my then wrapping my hair also in a towel. I tucked my towel in, and started my version of a beauty regime. I brushed my teeth, then flossed them, then used mouthwash, I was somewhat of an avid tooth brusher! I then washed my face, and applied moisturizer, not only to my face, but to my whole body.
Once I was certain every inch of my body was moisturized and soft, I dropped my towel, ad slipped on my dressing gown. I walked back through to the bedroom, all the while humming along to a song I knew so well. 'A River Flows In You' By Yiramu, one of my favorite songs at the moment. I smiled at the familiar piano that I loved so much played from the radio. As I entered the bedroom, I walked straight over to the wardrobe, swinging round the post of the bed as I went, giggling at my childishness that seemed at the forefront of everything today.
I opened the doors, and picked out a dress, as it was such a beautiful evening,something I very rarely did. The dress was a cross between casual and more formal, so hopefully, wherever Ron decided to take me, I wouldn't be dressed out of place. It was floated around knee level, creating an air of elegance and sophistication, that I didn't often possess. It was a light turquoise color, and was the most expensive dress I owned. It was made of silk, and was imported from Italy, and the lace that lined the dress had taken weeks to be personally hand stitched by an Italian seamstress. It was a one year anniversary present from Alex, I had received it when I had only just arrived in Belfast, it had been the thing that I treasured most, other than a picture of my family.
They had been killed, I was told. My parents were in a car crash, they told me. I was also in the car apparently, and had been in a coma for a three weeks. When my head hit the car seat in front of me, I managed o get a concussion, and I forgot my entire childhood from the age of eleven to 17. It frightened me that I couldn't remember a huge chunk of my life, and especially that they could find nothing of what school I went to, or anybody I knew. I had to start over completely, go to college, study so hard to Catch up with every other student. Luckily for me though, it wasn't a problem, as I was always quite an intellectual child, and I was soon over achieving, and getting the top of the class in every assessment and essay that we were set.
I quickly brushed my hair, it was so much easier when my hair was wet, and then blow dried it, all the while trying to keep the volume down. I managed to tame the curls, for once. My hair fell around my shoulders, soft from where I had washed it so viciously. I pinned it back with a pearl clasp, so it would no get in the way when we were eating. I applied some lip balm to my lips, I wasn't somebody who wore a lot of make up. I had pretty good skin, so I didn't use foundation, or BB cream, or anything like that, I only used dark circle concealer for under my eyes, where I often lacked in sleep. I used a little eyeliner, and clear mascara, I didn't want to over do it, after all, it wasn't a date or anything...
I pulled on my dress, the smooth, cool silk feeling wonderful against my warm slightly moist skin. I slipped on my silver heels, and did up the buckle at the side, before taking a few steps to make sure I could balance okay. I picked out a small, silvery bag, and quickly put in my favorite strawberry lip balm, phone, and mirror into the purse sized bag. I looked at my reflection, twirling, excited about what I would find out tonight.
I skipped out the bedroom, only to collide with Alex. My eyes widened as I stepped away from him, brushing myself off. I hadn't even heard him come in to the apartment.
"You look nice." His eyes narrowed. "Going some place nice?" I nodded curtly, and bit my lip.
"Yes. I am meeting a," What could I call Ron? "Friend." I finished. I could tell he didn't believe me, but he didn't question my answer.
"Okay. Have fun. Don't get back to late." He leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the cheek, then proceeded to grab me around the waist, and pull me closer to him. I rested my hand on his shoulders, and smiled at his sudden outburst of romanticizing. He leaned in, as to plant as huge kiss on my lips, but I swiftly turned my face down, so his lips contacted with my forehead.
It was hard to explain, but I felt I was being unfaithful in letting him kiss me. I kept thinking about he boy with liquid gold hair, and silvery, grey, blue eyes that sparkled like glowing orbs. The boy who loved me with very ounce of his heart and soul. Who I loved with every ounce of mine.
I pushed away from Alex, and kissed his cheek. He frowned at my reaction in confusion, but squeezed my hand.
"I'll see you later then, 'Min." He walked into the bedroom, leaving me in the sitting room in disbelief. How could I be feeling like this for someone I had never even met, even seen. It was impossible. I glanced up at the clock on the wall, it read thirty - two minutes past seven. I was late. Because of Alex. Again.
I ran out of the apartment, picking up my keys as I hastily made my way down to the lift. My heart was pounding in my chest, as I desperately tried to reach the lift before it closed. Just as I arrived, it started to close, but I held out my hand to stop the doors from closing, and stepped into the lift, along with another figure. I didn't even spare a look at him, I had to get downstairs. I heard a familiar voice from next to me just as the doors were closing.
"Up or down?" Ron was smiling down at me so hard, it looked as if it would break his face. I grinned up at him, slightly embarrassed I was late for our dinner. He laughed along with me as I blushed a deep shade of scarlet. I spoke clearly, and straightened my dress, readying myself for an eventful night.
"Down please."
I know that not that much actually happened in this chapter, but I had a lot of fun writing it! Please leave a review, sorry again for the mistakes I have made, I am a terrible proofreader! Thank you for reading!
Longest chapter so far! Sorry, will try and make them a bit shorter now;)
