Guys! Rusty Weasley sent me three finished chapters before the trip! Who's excited?! I am! Here's another one!
Chapter 7
On Monday morning, Adrian went into work a little later than usual. He stopped by the florist and sent another bouquet of flowers to Hermione. As he settled into his office, he kept thinking about her. Actually, he hadn't been able to get her out of his mind all weekend. He didn't want to appear desperate by reaching out to her too soon, so he gave her the day to sort out her thoughts. From what he'd heard, she was more than likely overanalyzing everything that happened. Thus the flowers. If he showed he was still interested then perhaps that overzealous mind of hers would relax.
Blaise knocked on Adrian's door. "Morning Ade. How was your weekend?" he said as he entered.
"Morning. It was good. Yourself?" Adrian said.
"Just fine. How many meetings today?" Blaise asked, taking a seat in one of the empty chairs across from Adrian.
"Let me check." Adrian looked over his planner. "Five. The Czech lady is coming in at 1:15pm. Is that the one you want to sit in on?"
"Yes. I promised my mother I'd look into it. She swears to Merlin this woman created a potion to halt the aging process. Mother's vanity will be the death of her, and of my vault," Blaise said with a mock serious face.
They both chuckled. Mrs. Zabini was a wonderful woman. A bit scary when angered, but delightful when on her good graces.
"We'll be sure to take extra care with her then," Adrian confirmed.
"Good, good," Blaise started. "So listen, I'm not one for gossip, but I heard Linda telling Draco that you went on a date with Granger this weekend," he paused as he took in Pucey's expression. "She happened to be in the same restaurant that evening. She said you two looked quite cozy. Close Maggiore? Very romantic, wouldn't you say?"
"Is there a point to this?" Adrian asked cautiously.
"I like you Ade. You're one of the good ones. Just...be on guard. She isn't any old bint you can shag and leave. This is Hermione Granger, Gryffindor Princess one third of the Golden Trio, brightest witch of our age, Hogwarts most…"
"I know her resume, Blaise," Adrian interrupted.
"Granger is strong and independent but if you do her wrong you won't just have her to deal with, you'll have all her Gryffindor lackeys, and probably the entire British wizarding community. Not to mention that pursuing a relationship with her will have reporters digging into your past. I know you have nothing to hide," Blaise held up his hand to stop Adrian from speaking, "but your character will be called into judgment for working with Draco and I. Draco's a reformed Death Eater and I'm his best mate. Because of us, they'll say you were affiliated with You-Know-Who," Blaise said, standing and walking towards the door. "You're a grown man and completely capable of dating whomever you want, but just be warned. A woman like Granger has a lot of unintentional baggage. I'll see you at 1:15."
Adrian watched his employer's back as he walked off towards his own office. Any normal man would have found Blaise's words unsettling, but not Adrian. He found Hermione challenging and intellectually stimulating. He realized that he'd met his match. Putting Blaise's words at bay, he headed towards to conference room for the first meeting.
Adrian half-heartedly listened to the first presentation. An older Scottish wizard was presenting a potion that was supposed to regrow hair. Right from the get go, his potion was a flop. Adrian let the man continue because it was all part of the job, and he didn't want anyone to be embarrassed or unhappy. In reality, the only one that was unhappy here was Adrian. He missed being outside and being active. Being strapped to a chair was not his idea of a career. He doodled on the parchment in front of him, occasionally nodding. To the presenter, it looked like Adrian was interested. However, Adrian had just beaten himself at Tic-Tac-Toe. He remembered the first time he learned to play. He'd been in Muggle London, browsing the parks when he came across a children's area. There were these awful contraptions that children were sliding on and swinging off of, but they appeared to enjoy it. The children were laughing and chasing each other, playing games, and absolutely no one had a broomstick. He sat on a bench nearby and continued observing. They seemed so carefree, unlike how a pureblood child was raised. He saw a group of girls hopping on a design on the ground that they'd drawn with chalk. Adrian thought it was a puzzle due to the numbers in each of the boxes, but the girls seemed to skip certain ones. Next to them were two younger boys drawing two vertical lines and two horizontal lines intersecting them on the pavement. Surrounding the boys were various other similar patterns that appeared to have been abandoned and filled in. Some with lines drawn through them and others with a big "C" on the top. He observed as they played, marking the spaces with "O's" and "X's". It was so simple, and yet fascinating. These boys who appeared to be no older than seven had the game down. It was about skill and strategy. The purebloods would have approved of that!
Adrian was drawn back to the presentation as his ears perked up at the clues the man was wrapping up his speech. He hasn't recalled anything he'd said in the last ten minutes.
After shaking his hand and letting the man know they'd be in touch, Adrian went back to his office. He placed the man's files in the reject bin. As he sat down, he noticed an owl perched on the window with a note attached to it's leg. He grabbed a treat from a desk drawer, removed the note, and fed the bird. The owl didn't move. It was waiting for a reply. Adrian opened the short but direct note.
Adrian-
Thank you for the flowers! It was a lovely surprise to wake up to. Meet me at W.W.W. tomorrow for dinner. I'm helping George with a few things but I'll be out by four.
-Hermione
P.S. I want my mug back. Thief. :)
Adrian scribbled a reply.
Hermione-
I'm glad you enjoyed them and I would love to join you for dinner. I'll be there promptly at four.
-Adrian
P.S. I'm using it at work right now. I'll buy you another mug.
With the response tied to its leg, the owl flew back to Hermione. Now that another date with Hermione was scheduled, Adrian could concentrate on his work and prepare for the next meeting.
Who wants chapters back to back!? Leave a review and if we reach the magic number of... 7, you guys got it!
-steph
