All characters belong to JK Rowling
Chapter 4 – Come Together, Right Now, Over Me
The next evening Hermione sat in the formal dining room of her new landlord's townhouse, at the head of the table, hands in her lap, and she was waiting patiently and anxiously for all the members of the Viper's Den to arrive. Secretly, she was slightly worried. Who were the other members? Who would help her complete which tasks? What would they want as payment for helping her with her list?
Before her was a copy of her list, as well as a new list of sorts, along with a blank piece of parchment under that. Although she made a vow to never make another list, this one was different. It was a list of things she wanted to say to the men that she was to meet tonight. It was a list of demands and promises she was going to see that they adhered to if they were going to help her complete her 'to do' list.
The blank piece of parchment was so she could make any notes she might have, just in case she agreed to this lunacy, and in case they wanted to draw up a contract, make out a chart, or write down who was going to do what. Really…a blank piece of paper could come in handy for so many reasons. For one thing, it was helpful when she wanted to do something with her hands, because she began to fold it into a small square so that she could pretend to have something to do, as a way to hide her surprise as the first few people began to file into the room.
For though she wasn't terrible surprised by the first couple of people she encountered tonight, Draco and Theo, a couple of others surprised her greatly.
She already knew Draco was a member. Draco escorted her into the house after answering the door, and he offered her their services last night, so his presence here was a given.
Likewise, it was Theo's house. He was the real reason she was living here, and he was one of the reasons she knew about this secret club, although he didn't know that, so she wasn't surprised to find him here tonight either. While Draco answered the door, Theo was the one to escort her into the empty dining room to await the arrival of the others.
"Have a seat at the end of the table," he offered, standing alone, aloof, in the mouth of the room, by the doorway.
Cautiously she went to sit down. Pulling out her list and the blank piece of parchment from her bag, she asked, "How many others will be joining us tonight?"
"You'll find out soon enough, Miss Granger," he said with an aloofness that set her nerve endings on edge.
"Why do you always call me Miss Granger? It's almost as if you act as if we don't know each other. We went to school together for years. I'm living above your house," she expounded. "It's so strange."
With a small laugh he asked, "Do you think its stranger or that I'm strange?"
"Yes." She smiled.
"Then it's a mutual feeling." He looked down the hallway and then back toward her. "By the way, Miss Granger, we haven't discussed the rent yet."
"We haven't discussed much yet," she elaborated. "When Adrian told me you had a place to let, I jumped at it, but I didn't ask him about rent, or if you allowed pets, or…"
"No pets!" Theo interrupted.
Draco walked into the room. "Merlin, Granger dear," Draco said with a roll of his eyes, "are you trying to negotiate the terms of your lease tonight, of all nights? Theo's terms are simple." Draco walked up behind her, leaned his chest against the back of her chair, placed his arms around her shoulders and said into her ear, "He doesn't allow pets, loud parties, which includes orgies unfortunately, and above all other things; you must always use a coaster under your drink."
He stood up and asked, "Speaking of which, drink?"
Hermione raised one eyebrow, looked over toward Theo and said, "Sure, I'll take some water, and bring me a coaster with that."
Draco barked a loud laugh and left the room to get her water.
Theo glared at her and added, "And your rent is due the first of each month."
All Hermione could think was…my goodness, this man is almost just like me, no wonder I like him so much. She smiled and said, "You need to loosen up, Mr. Nott."
"Says the woman of tightness," Theo spat, entering the room with a frown.
"The woman of tightness? What does that even mean?" She wondered why he was frowning. It seemed he was always frowning. She didn't like it when he frowned. He frowned too much in her opinion. "That doesn't make sense, and I'm trying to do something about that, hence my to do list."
Theo made a funny noise deep in his throat at that statement. The doorbell rang at that moment and he left his place by the doorway and went to answer it.
Hermione took a deep breath and prepared herself to meet the rest of the members of the Viper's Den, placing her 'to do list' out in front of her, and folding the blank piece of parchment in half, nervously. Then she waited.
When the handsome Blaise Zabini walked in, smooth as silk, took her hand, kissed it lightly, said, "Charmed, I'm sure, darling," and then took a seat to her left, she wasn't terribly surprised to see him. He was in Slytherin along with Theo and Draco at the same time she went to school with them. It only made sense that he would be in their club. She knew very little about the good-looking black man, but she wasn't too worried about his appearance here tonight.
Marcus Flint came in next. The tall, athletic, handsome, man smiled at her from the moment he walked into the room. Laughing as he took a seat to her right he said, "This is going to be so much fun, little Gryffindor." Then he had the nerve to ruffle her hair, as if she were a child (or a dog).
The last person to enter the room was the only person who gave her pause. She really didn't expect this person to be part of this secret society. True, she learned of this secret club partly from him, although he probably didn't recall the night he revealed that to her any better than Theo did.
She also knew that Adrian Pucey was the only one here who knew 'why' she made her list, because like her, he worked as an Unspeakable at the Ministry. In fact, he was her superior, and he sent her on the mission to South America in the first place – a mission he was supposed to go on himself. If he had gone, it wouldn't have mattered, as he was already over 27 and a pureblood. For the curse that killed Alex and Alison, and which now hung like an anvil over her head was very specific: it only inflicted Muggle-borns, and it would only kill those who had not yet turned 27 years old.
As soon as he entered, she stood and said to no one in particular, "I've changed my mind. This isn't going to work. I thought I'd come here and tell you all that in person." Then with her eyes on Adrian she said, "I don't believe there will be the level of discreetness that I was anticipating, so goodbye." Her eyes didn't leave Adrian's eyes as she spoke her last sentence.
Theo watched the exchange in interest, as nothing ever escaped his notice. Draco began to protest. Blaise looked at his watch and said, "I came here for nothing." Marcus leaned back in his seat and reached for the decanter of scotch on the buffet. Theo tossed him a coaster.
Adrian said, "Wait a minute, Hermione."
Clutching the edge of the table as tightly as she could, she waited, and said, "Why? Why should I wait, Adrian? I don't have time to wait, do I?"
"Everyone, please leave us for a moment," Adrian announced.
Theo sat back in his chair and under his breath he said, "He called her Hermione," but no one heard him.
"If you need to speak to Granger in private, wouldn't it be easier for you two to leave, then to have all of us go to another room?" Draco asked.
Blaise smiled at him and said, "See, people always think you're the pretty, but dumb one, but you'll prove them wrong some day, Malfoy. Brilliant plan. Pass me the scotch, Flint."
"Use the study down the hall," Theo offered, standing once again, and holding open the door of the dining room. Hermione walked by him, and he stiffened when she did. She looked up at him and stared right into his eyes.
He thought she looked pale, waned, upset. What was she about to say to Adrian? Why did Malfoy say she was ready to go along with their plan when he talked to her last night, but unexpectedly, upon seeing Adrian, she had an abrupt change of heart?
Mostly, why did Theo care?
He watched as Adrian and Hermione walked into the study and out of sight, then he called Malfoy out to the hallway to join him. "Malfoy, get your arse out here." Draco left the dining room and joined Theo in the hall. "What's that about, do you know?"
"No clue. Perhaps she knows what we've all known all our lives, which is that Pucey's a big old stick in the mud, and she doesn't think he'll be able to help her with her list." Draco shrugged.
Theo didn't think so. "What was Granger's job at the Ministry before she quit?"
Draco shrugged once more. "I don't know. It was always a mystery. She worked some secret place, doing secret things. Father says she was probably an Unspeakable, and if that's the case, we shouldn't speak of it." Malfoy laughed at his own stupid joke.
Theo hit Draco upside the back of his head. Then he asked, "What's Pucey's job at the Ministry?"
Draco, rubbing the back of his head, leaned against the wall and thought for a moment. "You know, he's never said, has he? Flint works there though, perhaps he knows. You, Blaise and I don't work there, so we've never bothered with asking, as we've always assumed it was something boring, as all Ministry jobs tend to be. Do you suppose they worked together?"
Now it was Theo's turn to shrug, though he did it with only one shoulder, and it was feeble, at best. He didn't like this, not one bit. "You don't work anywhere, as we all keep reminding you." Then he groaned and said glumly, "He's going to ruin everything, I know it." It was important that they help Hermione complete her list. There were at least two tasks that Theo especially wanted to help her carry out.
"No," Draco disagreed, "she'll come around, no matter what. It was easy to convince her really. Very easy. Easier than I thought." Draco smiled and Theo didn't like that either.
"What did you do?" Theo had know Draco Malfoy since they were both in nappies, and he knew that look. Draco got the look when he did something naughty, but he knew he was going to get away with it.
Draco smirked and said, "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I kissed her, and let me tell you, it was rather nice, and as I mentioned, easier than I thought. I flirted with her first, pulled her over to my lap, and then kissed her. It's odd, because she truly is like a new Granger, because the old Granger would have turned my hair green. I like this new Granger."
Theo felt like groaning again, for many reasons. He didn't want to compete against Draco for Hermione's affection. Running his hands over his eyes he asked, "Why did you do that?"
"To seal the deal. Oh hey, I did tell her though that we would all be discreet and all if she would consider our deal, so if she does, and she pays some of us back with certain favours, we have to be quiet about it all. I suppose I should have started with the other night. I shouldn't have told you that I kissed her. It was a simple kiss really, nothing to write home about, so don't tell the other fellows, all right? I don't want them to think anything about her. She's a right good girl." Malfoy nodded his head and walked back in to the dining room.
Theo exhaled a long, ragged breath that he didn't know he'd been holding, then he watched as Hermione and Adrian left the study to walk back toward him. She had her arms folded around her body and Adrian had a frown upon his face as he walked into the dining room.
"Are you leaving?" Theo asked her, assuming the worst, as they remained alone by the doorway.
"No, I'm going in there and we're going to negotiate the terms of The List." Standing in front of him she said, "Then we may have to negotiate our terms of my lease, because I rather like leaving rings on tables and things."
She said it all with a perfectly straight face, and he didn't know what to make of it all. Opening his mouth, to say something in return, she poked him in the chest and said first, "And you may find that you like it, too, Mr. Nott."
She walked past him, her hand brushing his as she walked through the door. Theo looked down at his hand, then turned and watched as she told everyone to take a seat and to listen to her, because what she had to say she was only going to say once.
Then he smiled and joined them. He decided he might like it indeed.
This was part of chapter 3, but I chopped it off the end and made it chapter four, which means the chapter four which is now back from my beta will now be chapter five! More to read, people! I wonder what Adrian and Hermione were discussing in the study? Perhaps they were discussing Mrs. Peacock in the study, with the candlestick? (If you didn't get that joke, the problem is with me, not you, believe me.)
Over on Granger Enchanted, this story already has 109 reviews and twice as many hits as on this site, and I don't think that's ever happened before, where a story has had more hits and reviews on that site than on this one. I wonder why? It's okay, but I still wonder. I think everyone here thinks I'm still just a Dramione writer, maybe that's it. Well, thanks for reading!