Previously on Making The First Move: Chapter 19
The three partners used the time Noah was gone to discuss the Wonder Wizard Watches Hermione had laid out on the table. Neville thought the watches were a novel idea commenting as Severus had that he hoped there wouldn't be any emergencies which necessitated using the watches in that manner.
After watching the two wizards for several seconds, Hermione gave both Severus and Neville a bit of a telling off insisting they didn't have any respect for all the hard work she had put into the communication devices.
When Hermione finished her mini rant, Severus and Neville hurriedly strapped on a watch while facetiously thanking Hermione for all the hard work it took to adjust four watches.
"Oh. It's like that. Is it?" Hermione had retorted with a grin. "I don't think you boys want to take it there. Me and my trusty wand have been known to cut smart arsed wizards down to size no problem. Would you care to adjust your attitudes and your comments?
Neither Severus nor Neville had time to respond to Hermione's taunt. Noah was at the door with David Reese in tow. David wanted to wish everyone a good weekend.
Turning her head so she was facing Severus and Neville, Hermione mumbled under her breath as she stood to greet David. "You two lads have lucked out."
A wide eyed Neville answered in the same low tone. "We most certainly did."
/
Making The First Move: Chapter 20
Neville was smart enough to follow Noah and David out of the room casually referring to some unknown something laying on his desk waiting for his review.
Hermione laughed softly as she called out after him. "No sense in running Neville. Or won't Noah and I be seeing you in the conference room in a bit?"
Neville came back to the doorway with a sheepish grin on his face. "I wasn't running Miss Granger. There is work I would like to get out of the way before we settle ourselves into the pages of your amazing book."
Severus cleared his throat, but suddenly found his fingernails very interesting.
"Something caught in your throat Severus? Hermione asked without taking her eyes off Neville. "Before Noah came to the door. It would seem you and Mr. Snape joined forces against me. I can respectfully say. You are very lucky I love and respect you both. Otherwise, you'd be owling Harry to come save both your arses. Please see to it that Mr. Gables receives his communication device." She said finishing with a flourish of her arms and a wide smirk across her face.
"I'll see to it as soon as Noah returns." replied Severus. "I was of the mind to finalize David's job requirements, but we can do that on Monday when David is here. Now. I understand you two and Noah have an appointment with a book. As for myself, I plan to do some brewing I have put aside for too long. Shall I have dinner sent in? I know none of you three will leave that book long enough to seek out sustenance."
"Thank you for your offer, but there will not be any food around The Silver Book. We will eat after the review." Hermione responded glaring at Neville and Noah as if they had asked to have the food sent in.
"Alright then. That's settled." Said Severus before heading downstairs. "I will stop back in after I've finished brewing. Perhaps you'll be tired of reading by then. Enjoy yourselves." Then he was gone.
/*/
With Severus gone, Hermione turned on Neville and Noah with a fierce glare. "I don't see gloves. Neither of you will touch my book without them"
"I have my gloves right here." Neville answered reaching into his side pocket pulling out a pair of white jeweler gloves.
"As do I," said Noah waving his pair of gloves in the air. "Let's get this party started. I've brought tons of parchment because I plan on taking copious notes."
Reaching into her desk drawer, Hermione smiled at her eager manager as she pulled out her own pair of gloves along with the carefully covered Silver Book of Potion Masters Extraordinaire.
They were ready.
The first thing Hermione had done was draw her wand. On the short walk to the conference room, she'd had an idea. Instead of three sets of hands vying to read the information contained in the book. She would set the room up along the lines of a Muggle projection set. With a bit of transfiguration, Hermione set up a movie screen in the back of the room and a self turning projector which would turn the pages showing them on the screen at two minute intervals.
As Hermione explained what she had done, Noah began bobbing his head up and down. "That is brilliant Hermione. I've seen these in Muggle magazines, but until this moment I haven't ever seen one close up."
"Well now you have Noah. If you'll both take a seat, we can get started. You'll have to provide your own personal light to take notes as the room needs to be darkened for the best viewing. We begin. As I've explained, the pages will turn every two minutes which should be enough time to take notes. If there are points either of you want to clarify or discuss, just say the word Studeo and the current page will remain on the screen until I say Incipio. You will not need your wands."
With a wave of her wand, Hermione started the projector at page one.
/*/
Severus had spent hours toiling over three cauldrons. Now, with wand in hand he was magically bottling the last of his recipes. The fires had been turned off a while ago, but there was still quite a bit of steam in the room. Although his hair wasn't hanging limply to his shoulders as it had in previous years. There were damp hairs hanging down his forehead which he had to push back every so often with the back of his hand.
Stepping back from his work, Severus felt a sense of pride in what he had accomplished in a short amount of time. Then a sudden thought had hit him. Had it been a short amount of time? He had been so absorbed in his brewing he hadn't kept track of time. Glancing at the new communication device on his wrist, Severus let out a soft whistle. It was coming up on 10:00. He had been working almost four hours. It was way past time to close up shop. With a firm snap of his wand, Severus sent the finished product flying to the stores area. Then he tidied up using a quick clean up spell around his work area and headed upstairs.
As he approached the conference room, Severus heard a faint sound from behind the closed door. They were still at it. He had the idea he would open the door to find all three asleep with their heads on their arms. Instead, when he opened the door. Three sets of eyes turned in his direction at the same time. However, the stares barely registered as Severus realized what his brilliant fiancée had done. Setting up the book review as a Muggle movie was genius. Pulling up a chair, Severus smiled at Hermione as he reached down to grab her hand under the table.
"Well done Miss Granger. Very well done." Severus remarked squeezing her hand tightly. "With the compliments out of the way. May I suggest you three leave off where you are and call it done for now. It is going on 10:30."
"Severus is right gentlemen. We have made it to chapter three. It's time to call it done. Besides, now that we have a way to view the book without it being excessively handled. I am much more willing to give you better access to it. We can talk more about this on Monday." Hermione rattled off as she transfigured the projector and screen back to their original shapes. "I'll see you tomorrow Noah and you on Monday Neville. Have a good evening."
"Goodnight Severus. Goodnight Hermione," said Neville. "I'll see you both on Monday."
"Goodnight," repeated Noah. "I'll see you in the morning."
/*/
Hermione was starving. The day had been a busy one and she had been so intent on getting everything tidied up before sitting down with Neville and Noah she hadn't bothered to eat. So. At 10:30 in the evening her stomach was letting out little sounds of annoyance.
"Oh my. Excuse me." Hermione said for the third time as her stomach continued to rumble.
"I can hear that from here." Severus called out from the bedroom. "Please do not tell me you went the entire day without stopping to at least have a sandwich."
"Alright. I won't tell you. We were all very busy love. Did you stop to have a sandwich without bringing me one?"
"Ah. Touché. I did not, but it is not my stomach roaring as though it hasn't had food in days. Come in here, give me a kiss then change into something comfortable. Depending on the kiss and the clothing you do or do not put on, we can put together a small meal."
Hermione got up off the couch she had plopped down on as soon as they landed and headed to the bedroom. After unsheathing her wand and removing everything except her bra and knickers, Hermione gave Severus a quick kiss that barely brushed his lips before summoning a nightdress.
Severus waited until Hermione had the nightdress on before pulling her to him. "Am I to assume from that miserly kiss that food has become more important than me?" He asked while rubbing his chin back and forth over Hermione's hair. Running his hands up and down Hermione's back, Severus leaned down to whisper another thought. "For tonight, I find that fair, but tomorrow you and I have an appointment to discuss our future. I'm letting you know here and now. Discussing our future is not the only thing we will do."
Grabbing Severus around the waist and running her hand across his still tight arse, Hermione told him she loved his romantic innuendo.
Severus simply smiled and let himself be pulled down the hall towards the kitchen. All the while thinking, never in my life would I have thought Hermione Granger and Spinner's End would make sense in the same sentence or even be in the same sentence for that matter. How my life has changed.
/*/
Hermione made a fluffy omelet while Severus made the toast and poured the juice. Eating light. By the time they finished eating, it was well past 11:00, but neither wanted to lie down directly after a meal so they sat on the couch discussing the events of the day. Severus once again mentioned how much Noah impressed him.
Stifling a yawn, Hermione nodded her head in agreement. Then she stood pulling on Severus' hand so he would follow her. "Come on love. It's time we went to bed. I want to be in top form when I face the host of giggling witches I expect to turn up at the shop's door in the morning."
Severus stood as well, following behind Hermione as she headed for the bedroom. Commenting on the tantalizing sway of her hips, Severus tried for a bit of sexual interaction, but Hermione swatted his hands away and headed directly for the bed mumbling something that sounded like, not tonight git.
As soon as Hermione laid her head on the pillow, she was making sleep noises before Severus had one leg out of his trousers.
Slipping in beside Hermione, Severus kissed the top of her head before settling into his pillow.
/**/
Saturday morning, Hermione slipped quietly out of bed so she wouldn't wake Severus. He wasn't attending the demonstration so she wanted him to have the chance to sleep in. She was more than sure his internal Saturday clock would wake him in time enough to get to Anthony's.
Hermione wanted to get a jump start on the morning by getting to the shop as early as possible to check on the displays she and Luna had set up the previous afternoon. The only thing that remained to be done was remove the concealing charms she had cast to keep prying eyes away from the displays until this morning. As long as Luna didn't try to force her choices on customers, Hermione felt the day would go quite well.
Leaning over, Hermione left a soft kiss on Severus' cheek before gathering her wand and purse and heading to the floo. Before the floo powder pulled her towards her destination, Hermione smiled thinking how the next time she saw her wizard he would be smelling like Anthony's special Wizarding Hair Care Product. It was a smell she loved.
/*/
Shaking off a few loose bits of powder as she stepped out of the floo, Hermione hurried to hang her robes. For good or bad, she and Luna had decided to hold the demonstration wearing a jumper and jeans. But knowing Luna. Hermione couldn't be sure what the witch would wear. Pushing that thought aside, Hermione knew they would manage no matter what Luna wore.
To add additional sparkle to the event, Hermione had put together a complicated little spell which would allow her to temporarily charm a customer's clothing to best accentuate the new make up. It was something that had come to her when she and Luna were finishing up the displays. Hopefully the charm would help sales.
/*/
Even though it was still an hour before the shop opened. Noah and Ethan were in their office going over parchments that were laid out in front of them on Noah's desk. Both had looked up to greet Hermione.
"Good morning Hermione."
"Good morning to you Ethan." Hermione replied with a smile.
"Good morning Hermione. We are ready to go," remarked Noah.
"Good luck to us then. Have either of you seen Luna? It's early, but I expected her to be here by now."
"She hasn't stopped in to say good morning, so I'm not sure if she is here." Noah replied with a shrug. "Perhaps she is still a bit put out with Ethan and I. We had a bit of confrontational lunch yesterday. She might not show up at all."
"Do not assume Mr. Gables. If Luna said she would be here to help out, she will be here. Let's get out front. There are still a few things to be done.
Both wizards jumped up as though someone had lit a fire under their arses. Neither wanted Hermione angry with him.
Hermione lifted the charm and the displays came into view. Everything was perfect. Displays, prices and suggestions were featured promptly over the front. In addition, each queue had been dressed with free sample packets. They were ready to go.
As the three stood looking around at the grand displays, Luna came hurrying through from the back. "I planned to be here sooner, but Neville was a bit frisky this morning." She said glancing around with a critical eye then nodding as though everything was to her liking.
Hermione pinked up a bit over Luna's overly candid remark. As did Noah and Ethan. But good manners prevailed and no one questioned Luna on what she meant by frisky. However, Noah and Ethan took the opportunity to head for his specific queue in case Luna did want to go into a more in depth explanation of frisky.
/*/
Precisely at 9:00, Noah unlocked the doors hoping for an early rush, but was a bit disappointed to find only two of the shop's older customers at the door. Even so, he assisted one wizard while Ethan assisted the other.
By 9:30, Hermione and Luna were quietly discussing the lack of customers who had come through to view the displays. They had expected the younger witches to be at the shop door first thing.
Time marched slowly ahead and still the rush to see the Brewer Masks hadn't materialized. Then, at the stroke of 10:00, the shop seemed to explode with customers. The young witches who came through the door gravitated towards the displays then to Hermione and Luna. A collective ooh had gone up when Hermione gave her first demonstration then cast the charm showing the customer how she would look in various colors and various makeup. Then all the witches had clamored to be next. Hermione had to explain she couldn't give everyone a demonstration explaining that the product practically set itself.
Luna and Hermione were busy with the demonstrations straight through as another great wave of witches that included Ginny, Hannah, Leanne, Susan, Angelina, Parvati and Lavender among others came through around 11:30. They too had been wowed at what the products did in a very short period of time.
Everyone wasn't enthralled by the products, but the majority of witches were. Hermione simply shrugged when she overheard Lavender tell Parvati she didn't need makeup because the wizards liked her just the way she was. She was however, slightly aggravated at the comment because during the demonstrations she had taken great pains to explain that the product could be used daily or for special occasions only.
"Silly twit." Hermione grumbled moving farther away from Lavender.
/*/
Several times, Hermione caught a glimpse of the wide smiles covering the faces of Noah and Ethan as their products literally flew from the shelves. She also glimpsed Ginny glued to Noah's queue in an effort to ply him with her charms. Hermione shook her head. Her best friend never could resist a handsome wizard.
Hermione had a quick chat with her witch friends before thanking them for their support. Almost every witch in Hermione's year at Hogwarts had purchased something.
Ginny had lagged a bit behind to inquire about Noah. Hermione had been frank and upfront with her friend. "He has a witch Ginny."
With a cheeky wink and a toss of her red head, Ginny had shrugged her shoulders before replying. "And?"
Hermione lifted both hands in the air as if to say, I will not make this my problem.
Ginny laughed and gave Hermione a hug before exiting the shop.
/*/
Ethan locked the shop doors at 1:30 and continued to assist the remaining customers. When the last customer left, Noah insisted Hermione and Luna go rest their feet explaining he and Ethan would join them after tidying up.
Fifteen minutes later, Noah and Ethan entered the conference room each holding a large, potted plant. One for Luna. One for Hermione.
"Oh my," stammered Luna. "What a beautiful, thoughtful gift. I love plants. Thank you so much."
Hermione echoed Luna's sentiment holding her gift close to her chest.
"I wish we could say the plants are a result of our good taste." Noah replied looking pleased with himself. "It was all down to David. He chose them for us after we told him how you and Luna were supporting our products. I hope this isn't out of line, but I want you to know David has nothing but admiration for you. I won't say more. I'm sure he will tell you the rest himself."
"Well. Luna and I will be sure to thank David for his choice of gifts. Now men. How did you think today went?"
The two wizards were stoked. They felt the day couldn't have gone any better. Hermione and Luna had agreed wholeheartedly. After fifteen minutes of discussion, Hermione ended the conversation by congratulating Noah and Ethan telling them Severus and Neville would probably want to have a word as well.
After Noah and Ethan left, Hermione told Luna Severus was probably waiting so she should be getting home.
"I should be getting home as well. Neville and I are going to check on Augusta this evening. The poor dear is hanging on by a thread, but still manages to keep Neville chained to her." A look of horror came over Luna's face as she realized what she had just said. "Oh my. I shouldn't have said that. Please don't mention it to Neville. I don't want him to think I begrudge him his few minutes with his grandmother. I just talk too much sometimes."
Luna looked as though she might cry.
Leaning over, Hermione reached out to pat Luna on the hand in a reassuring manner. " I promise. I will not repeat a word of it to Neville."
"Or Severus," added Luna meekly.
"I have promised not to repeat your thoughts to Neville. Severus is a different matter. He and I don't keep secrets. What I can promise is I won't bring up Mrs. Longbottom unless he brings her name up to me. Which I don't think will ever happen. Severus is not a gossip and does not care for gossipers. Your little faux pas is safe with me. Alright? You may leave if you wish. Noah has locked up. All I need is to set the wards. Go ahead then. I'll see you on Monday. And thank you for your help Luna. We work well together."
"Yes. We do work well together. I'll see you Monday Hermione. Enjoy the rest of your weekend."
/*/
Hermione made quick work of the wards. Five minutes later she was stepping out of her floo.
"Severus love. Are you here?" She called out thinking he might be in the bathroom. No answer. It was almost 3:00 pm. If he'd gone to Anthony's Barbering Shop, he should have been back by now.
She went into the bedroom thinking to take a quick shower and had been surprised to find none other than Severus Snape sleeping on top of the covers. Passing quietly through the room, Hermione went to have a shower planning to make a vegetable soup when she finished.
Severus didn't stir as Hermione threw on one of his tees and tiptoed out of the room. Using her wand, Hermione had the vegetables and broth on the stove in no time flat. Turning the fire to low flame, she cut up beef left over from Thursday placing it carefully into the soup. Then she cut fat slices of bread which she would toast just before sitting down with Severus. For now, she was going to sit back and relax.
Hermione hadn't been sitting for more than five minutes when the doorbell rang. She wasn't expecting anyone and wasn't dressed for visitors so she spoke through the door. "Who's there?"
The voice came back through the door. "It's me Hermione. Have I come at an inopportune time?" Harry called back.
"It's fine Harry. Come on in." She said moving quickly towards the bedroom. "I just have to make myself presentable. Make yourself comfortable. Pour us a drink. I'll just be five minutes."
Pulling on an ankle length house dress, Hermione was sitting facing Harry in no time at all. "What's up Harry? I thought you would be somewhere sulking on this fine Saturday afternoon." Hermione added somewhat facetiously.
Her words didn't faze Harry. "I do not sulk. Perhaps if you checked your owls more often Miss smart arse. My visit wouldn't be such a surprise. I sent an owl this morning to let you know I would be coming through around… Well. Around now. Do you mean to tell me that my personal owl has been sitting on your window sill probably shivering his feathers off all this time?"
She loved her witty, best friend.
"I was at the shop until after 2:30. Your personal owl obviously didn't have sense enough to come find me." Hermione said standing up to go check the windows. "He's here Harry. Poor thing looks malnourished. I'll get him some crackers and water."
However, as soon as Hermione unwrapped the message from his leg. The owl tried to whip Hermione with his wings before taking off with a screech.
"Nice going Granger. You've probably scarred Jules for life."
"Hmph. Like being your owl hasn't already scarred him for life. I've made vegetable beef soup. Would you care to join me for dinner?"
"Sounds great." Harry replied raising his glass to Hermione. "I'm famished."
"You're always famished Harry. Let me just go wake Severus."
"Severus? Shite Hermione. Why didn't you tell me Severus was here? You let me go on like some moron with your wizard lying within earshot. I could have been killed."
Harry could still hear Hermione laughing through the closed bedroom door.
/*/
Hermione sat back down on the couch telling Harry that Severus would be out shortly.
While they sat there waiting, Harry explained why he was really there. It seemed that Millicent Bullstrode had approached him in an unprofessional manner complaining about Hermione.
"Me?" Asked Hermione in complete surprise. "She's the bint who approached me spoiling for a fight. Severus had to give her a right, nice telling off. What was her complaint?"
Before Harry could respond, a frosty drawl interjected itself into the conversation. "Yes Mr. Potter. I'd like to hear the answer as well. Tell us. Just what has Hermione done to Millicent Bullstrode?