A Day of Team-Breaking
9310 words
Rating: T
Dedicated to Halamdrie without whom no-one would be reading this oneshot since the site wouldn't let me upload it. Another thank you to Hotel Babylon for the idea!
It was 08:30 on Monday morning.
At 08:31, Hermione Granger apparated into HA8, Diagon Alley's trendiest and most sophisticated bar and restaurant of which she had been General Manager for the last six months.
At 08:32 she was holding a double espresso in her right hand whilst her left held six detailed reports on the last minute booking she had arranged for Friday night when the Brown- Zabini engagement party had been "postponed".
At 08:33 the beginning of her staff had started apparating in for their Monday morning meeting which was being held earlier than usual. Hermione smiled and exchanged the normal morning pleasantries with her colleagues but her gaze and mind were on the reports in her hand. She was also eyeing the stack of unopened mail that needed sorting through.
At 08:34 her mobile (Hermione thanked Merlin that the Wizarding World had seen the usefulness of mobiles over owls and departmental memos) starting ringing. She took a bracing sip of hot caffeine, savored the bittersweet taste in her mouth before swallowing. Two seconds later she was on the phone with the restaurant's produce supplier whilst he informed her that there had been a problem with the latest order HA8 had placed. Hermione sighed as she simultaneously glanced at her watch and tried to make sure that tomorrow's delivery contained everything that would be needed for the rest of the week.
At 08:45 she was seated in the staff meeting room with all five other attendees as she waited somewhat impatiently for Draco Malfoy, new(ish) owner of HA8, to make an appearance so she could begin. She looked at the people sitting around the round table and reassured herself that they would be able to pull off Friday's event in the space of four days.
"Is everything okay with the order? I have a grapefruit soufflé on this week's menu and I cannot do it without pink grapefruit." Jean's voice with its thick French accent broke through Hermione's nervous musings.
She turned to look at the Head Chef and smiled. "Don't worry, you'll have your pink grapefruit. And everything else for this week's menu."
"Since the Brown- Zabini party was cancelled on Friday I was wondering if I could book the day off? I was going to visit Mom and Dad over the weekend and an extra day to do the housework before I go would be great." asked Lucy.
Hermione glanced at the clock on the wall, registered Draco's lateness and decided to start the meeting without him.
"I'm sorry." She said as she turned to Lucy and cleared her throat to indicate the meeting had begun. Her staff sat up straighter in their chairs and grabbed their pen and notebooks. "Since the event on Friday was cancelled we stood to lose quite a bit of money, even with the non-refundable deposit, and so I managed to book a last minute replacement. We'll now be hosting Fiona Davenport's 30th Birthday Party."
There were gasps of astonishment, mainly from Lucy and Heather who was Head of PR for HA8.
"Fiona Davenport?" Lucy murmured in excitement. "Oh Merlin. On second thought's I don't want Friday off."
"Isn't it late notice for a birthday party?" asked John, HA8's maître d.
Hermione smiled at his sensible question. In his job, John was the first point of contact with the many celebrities in the Wizarding World who picked HA8 over the other bars and restaurants in Diagon Alley and yet he seemed immune to all the glamour.
"They were originally booked with Juniper but Juniper Senior found out that a certain brother of Miss Davenport's was cheating on his little girl and refused to hold the event in his restaurant. Naturally, I was there to offer a suitable solution." Hermione smiled.
"Oooh yes I heard about that. It was in Saturday's Prophet. Damien Davenport was cheating on Ria Juniper with that model from *ITCHES. What's her name again?" Lucy said as she turned to Heather.
Heather's face scrunched up as she too tried to remember the model's name.
"Guliana Westwick." John supplied in a bored voice.
Ignoring Lucy and Heather's chatter on the model, Hermione turned her surprised face towards the man.
A hint of smile betrayed his bored façade. "It's my job to keep up with the inane happenings between these people. It's my job on the line if I accidentally seat them at adjacent tables when they aren't talking to each other."
Hermione shook her head at the explanation. "Right well, regardless of whether Mr Davenport is currently seeing Miss Westwick or not-"
"Sleeping with- not seeing" Lucy corrected.
"-the point is that since we only have four days to arrange this event to Fiona Davenport's exacting standards, I'm going to need everyone on board. Unfortunately, that means I'll need my Head Waitress here on Friday night."
"No problem. I'll be here." Lucy said with a shake of her head.
Hermione nodded her own before passing out the reports she'd spent all of yesterday compiling.
"I managed to work out the details of what Miss Davenport is looking for when I met up with her and her mother yesterday. All that remains is actually determining whether or not we'll be able to meet their needs in such a short time." she said, worry seeping into her voice.
Hermione turned to Blake, HA8's Bar Manager. "They're requesting French champagne by the bucketload. The exact numbers and the other specialty drinks needed for the party are in the folder. Is that manageable?" she asked.
Blake nodded his head as he opened the folder and perused the list of champagnes and wines. "I know someone who owes me a favour. I'll call it in." he said.
Hermione sighed in relief. At least that was one less thing she needed to worry about. She turned to Heather. "Regarding paparazzi. Miss Davenport will be apparating directly into HA8 however she isn't opposed to posing for a few pictures once she's freshened up."
"I'll leak the fact. If we position the cameras to the side, any pictures taken will have the HA8 sign in the background."
"Perfect." Hermione said before she turned to Lucy. "The guest list is over 150. We'll be closing the entire bar to the public however the restaurant will still be up and running as usual which means extra staff."
"I'll contact the temporary agency. We can use the staff that were originally booked for Friday. They should still be free."
Hermione took in a deep breath before she turned toward Jean, knowing that out of everyone, he would prove to be the most difficult to bring around. "The menu that the Davenport's had agreed with Juniper is in the folder. Look over it and let me know-"
Hermione broke off as the door to the meeting room opened and Draco Malfoy walked into the room. Any other witch or wizard would have momentarily faltered at the fact they had interrupted a meeting and were now the sole attention of the room's occupants but not Draco Malfoy. He merely closed the door behind him and smiled at the Head Staff as his eyes swept around the table.
Finally they landed on Hermione and she forced a smile on her face. "Draco." She said in greeting.
He nodded his head back at her.
"We were expecting you ten minutes ago." She stated.
Draco eyes widened a few millimeters at her statement and his smile hardened slightly. "I didn't realise my presence was mandatory for the meeting to get underway."
Hermione bristled but kept her tongue in check. Draco may be her ex-boyfriend but he was also now the person she answered to.
"I simply thought you might wish to re-introduce yourself to the Head Staff before the meeting started. I assumed you would have something to say to them."
"You assumed correctly but by all means continue with your meeting. I can wait until you've completed your business. After all, HA8 comes first."
With that he conjured up a chair at the side of the room and sat down on it. Legs were crossed and eyes sharpened in assessment.
Hermione cleared her throat to get her thoughts back in check and noticed her Head Staff were now sitting ramrod stiff in their chairs.
"Jean, as I was saying. If you look over the menu and let me know on what is or is not possible I will be able to discuss any alternative dishes with Miss Davenport before the day's end."
For once, the hot tempered Head Chef simply nodded his head in agreement without a fight. Hermione knew his reason for doing so when she saw his furtive glance towards Draco.
She cleared her throat again. "I'll see to the decorations and informing the guests of the change of venue. I think that's it for now. Everyone is aware on what needs to be done so I suggest we get started."
The words were out of her mouth before she realised that Draco still wanted to address the group. With hesitation she turned towards him.
"Um I'm sure you all remember Draco Malfoy. I know that you all met him briefly last month when he bought HA8 but hopefully today will be the time to ask him any questions you have and vice versa?"
Draco ignored the invitation completely. He stood from his chair and walked a few steps until he was stood to the side of Hermione's chair.
"I understand that there was a recent problem with the produce supplier?" he asked as he looked down on her.
Hermione looked up at him with frozen eyes for a few seconds. How in Merlin's beard had he heard about the slight mishap when Hermione herself had only first heard about it less than thirty minutes ago?
"I wouldn't consider it a problem." Hermione said coolly. From the corner of her eye she saw Jean shift uneasily in his chair. "There was just a little confusion in a few items that were ordered for this week but it's all cleared up now."
Hermione didn't mention that the problem had been caused by Jean's inability to complete his produce orders in English and not French. When Draco raised a single eyebrow in a mocking gesture, she had a feeling he was all too aware on just what she had let out of her explanation.
"It seems like there was a lapse in adequate communication to me. And communication is crucial in the successful running of a business." He stopped addressing Hermione and turned to the other staff. "Which is why I've arranged for a leading expert in team building and management to come in today and work with you."
"Team building?" Hermione repeated. She blinked blankly at his revelation for a few seconds before she let out a nervous laugh. "Unfortunately you might not already know that we only have four days to pull out this year's biggest social event. I don't think we'll have the time to play a few games."
Draco's eyes bore into hers. "The exercise will be taking place today and will be compulsory." He stated in a final voice. "For all members of Head Staff."
Hermione bristled. Did the man not understand just how much work needed to be done?
"I really don't think now is the best time for this exercise to take place. I'll need my team around me when this event is being planned-"
"Oh but they will be around you. You will be joining in with the exercise after all."
"Me?" Hermione asked with a frown.
"Yes. You are the General Manager of HA8 are you not? I need to make sure that there aren't any problems anywhere in my staff. I need to make sure that I have the best staff possible running HA8."
His words ruffled the feathers of the others in the room and he turned away from Hermione as they addressed him.
"What does this mean? That if we fail some silly team building game we'll be sacked?" Blake questioned.
"Like I said, I want to make sure I have the right staff and this will be an excellent chance to brush up on some team skills. A well run team need to complement each other."
At the words well run, Draco's eyes flicked back to Hermione's.
"It shouldn't be a problem." He continued. "I'm sure you'll breeze through it." He glanced at his watch before walking towards the doors. "Starting time is ten in the VIP suite. I expect to see you all there." He said before he walked out.
There was silence for a few seconds before it all erupted.
"Are you not happy with my work?" Lucy asked worriedly.
"No, of course I am. You've preformed incredibly well as Head Waitress since you were appointed to the post." Hermione soothed.
"I knew he wanted me out. Ever since his first visit and I gave him his Firewhiskey with rocks instead of neat." Blake said.
Hermione sighed quietly. "I'm sure Draco doesn't want you out because you served him unwanted ice. Look, it will be fine. We work great as a team. So let's just indulge Draco for a few hours and then we can crack on with the real work okay?" Hermione said as she stood from her seat.
The Head Staff slowly stood from their seats and trawled out. The last thing Hermione heard was Lucy's voice.
"I'm not good at tests. It's why I'm a waitress."
ooo
At 10:00, all Head Staff were walking with trepidation to the VIP Suite where the team building and motivation exercises were going to be taking place.
"Oh Merlin, if it's a test I'm copying one of you." Lucy said as they neared the room.
"It won't be a test like that I don't think. How can they determine how we work in a team if we're all doing the test individually?" Heather injected.
"It will be a few hours of some old man speaking some rubbish on how we need to listen to each other better and other Hippogriff dung. We'll be fine." Blake said as he opened the door.
They all froze when they set sight on the young witch standing next to their new boss.
"Old man eh?" Jean murmured into Blake's ear.
Blake rolled his eyes at the Frenchman before moving into the room.
"Everybody, I'd like you to meet Bella Davies. She'll be working with you over the course of today. She's-"
Hermione interrupted Draco momentarily when she slipped into the room. Her hopes of not having her lateness noticed went out the window when she saw Draco's gaze rest on her for half a second before he continued talking, effectively dismissing her in under a second.
"As I was saying, she's sure to be a great help so I'll pass you into her capable hands." Draco finished.
Miss Davies smiled. "Hello."
There were polite murmurs back.
"I understand that some of you may be cynical about who I am and what I do," both Miss Davies and Draco glanced Hermione's way and she stuck her chin out, "but I ask that you approach this with an open mind."
Hermione's mobile chose that inopportune moment to ring. She quickly fumbled for it in the pocket of her trousers before rejecting the call, thus leading it to voicemail.
"Sorry." She apologized.
"Thank You." Bella replied loftily.
Hermione smiled back in a manner which hopefully didn't reveal the annoyance she was currently experiencing.
"We'll have three tasks in all and they'll be spread out over today. The last task will be the main event and will test what you've learnt today. I'm sure you'll all perform wonderfully and I'll have done my job for the day."
Hermione caught Blake's eye and had to hide her smile behind her hand.
"Shall we get started?" Bella asked. Before waiting for anyone's answer she waved her wand and a piece of blue plastic appeared on the floor in front of them. "If you please." She indicated.
Hermione and the rest of her colleagues made their way over to the plastic.
"The goal is to ensure that everyone manages to stay on the sheet without touching the floor when the size of the sheet is slowly reduced."
"So is this how you're planning on deciding who gets sacked. First one off is the first one out the door?" Blake asked.
A wave of Bella's wand cut off his question and caused the sheet to reduce to half its size. Hermione, Lucy and Jean were forced to move closer to Blake, John and Heather who were standing opposite them. Another wave and another reduction in size caused them all to push together.
"Watch your hands." Lucy squealed indignantly.
"This is the most pointless and time wasting thing I've ever seen." Hermione whispered to Blake.
Like a guilty child, Hermione's eyes automatically flicked to Draco to make sure he hadn't heard her. His raised eyebrows and stony expression indicated otherwise.
A few seconds later Hermione's phone started ringing again and she stumbled as she tried to reach into her pocket to get it. Fiona Davenport's name flashed on the small screen.
"Oh it's Fiona. Sorry." Hermione said as she stepped off the plastic. She moved to the side of the room to take the call, oblivious to the fact that her movement had almost caused Jean and Heather to topple off the plastic.
During the time it took for her to finish the call to Fiona and extensively explain that an additional thirty guests would not be a problem, however any later additions could possibly be so, the first task was over.
As she bid Fiona goodbye she heard the cheers in the background to shows it's successful completion.
As the team rejoiced, Hermione was already on the phone to another caller so that invitations could be arranged for the last minute guests. She missed Draco's unimpressed look as she and her team trailed out of the room.
ooo
At 10:45, Hermione was busy working in her office when Blake stepped into the room with a man she had never seen before.
"Hi Hermione. Listen I was wondering if we'd be able to give Zac a job as a waiter?"
Hermione raised her eyebrows at the unusual request. "We haven't advertised any positions." she said before glancing down at the papers in front of her.
"I know, it's just that Zac is an old housemate and he's fallen into some problems. His parents have chucked him out and it will only be for a few weeks until he finds another job." Blake said.
Hermione's eyebrows rose even higher. "Look Blake…and Zac. I'm sorry, but there's really nothing I can do to help you. The budget for waiter staff is tight as it is."
"Surely you can figure out some way to accommodate Zac. He'd be willing to work for reduced wages. Maybe we could use him on Friday night?"
Hermione sighed. She hated having to be the bad guy. "Blake I'm sorry, but you know as well as I do that extra staff always come from the agency." She glanced at Zac's face. "If you give me your CV I'll check around to see if anyone else is hiring right now."
Zac shuffled uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
"Well, he hasn't actually had a proper job since leaving Hogwarts." Blake admitted.
Hermione glanced back to Zac. The man looked to be in his early twenties. Only a few years younger than herself. How could he not have had a job?
"What do you mean by a proper job?" she asked instead.
"Well he worked at his Dad's Cauldron shop for a few months but it didn't work out." Blake informed.
"So you want me to give him a job when he not only hasn't got any hospitality experience but any credible work experience at all." Hermione summarized.
"Look mate it's okay." Zac said. "It was a long shot anyway." He turned to look at Hermione. "Sorry to bother you. It was nice seeing you again Hermione." He said as he made for the door.
Hermione brow puzzled. "Seeing me again?" she asked.
Zac turned and smiled. "Don't remember me eh? Well I didn't really expect you to. I'm Zacharias Smith. We were in the DA together."
Immediately Hermione's mind flew back to her Hogwarts years. She remembered a small annoying boy with mousy brown hair. She then remembered that same boy standing in the middle of the Final Battle at Hogwarts and sending a Stupefy curse to a Death Eater running after her.
She sighed. "Hold on. I might be able to work something out-"
She was interrupted when there was a knock on the door and Heather popped her head in.
"Come in." Hermione told her.
She made her way to Hermione's desk where she deposited a black sack which clinked as it settled on the wooden surface.
"Seems like the restaurant takings from yesterday weren't deposited." She said.
"They were left on the premises overnight?" Hermione asked alarmed.
Sunday might not be HA8's busiest night but any takings were always strictly taken to Gringotts at the end of the night.
"With all the problems with the produce and things, it seems it slipped Jean's mind."
Hermione sighed as she slipped the sack into her desk drawer. "I'll talk to Jean and deposit the money myself."
Heather left and Hermione turned back to Zac. "Today will be probationary. If I'm not happy at the end of the day then…" she let her sentence hang. "Get him a uniform and take him to Lucy." She told Blake.
"Thank you!" Zac said.
Blake smiled his own thanks before the two left her office. Taking in a deep breath, Hermione took another sip of coffee before getting back to work on finding a supplier of the pink heart shaped favour boxes Fiona wanted to give her guests at the end of the night.
ooo
At 11:30, as Hermione was in the kitchens talking to Jean before the early lunchers came through HA8's doors, Draco and Bella entered Hermione's office to review the morning's task.
"So how did they do?" Draco asked as they took a seat on the sofa in the corner of the room.
"It's early days yet but I'm impressed so far. I wanted to ask you about Hermione. Have I done something to offend her?" Bella asked.
"No, you haven't done anything." Draco reassured her. "She just isn't happy with the timing that's all."
"Are you sure she doesn't think that this is all a waste of time?"
Draco laughed. "Don't worry about Hermione. I'll talk her around. I always do."
"Oh, have you worked together for long then?"
Draco smiled. "No, just a month since I bought this place. But there is the fact that we went out for two years."
Bella's eyes widened. "Oh my, that's surprising."
Hermione walked into her office and immediately froze when she spotted Draco and Bella on the sofa.
"Oh sorry. I hope I'm not interrupting." She said as she made her way to her desk.
When she turned back around, both Draco and Bella were standing.
"Not at all. Bella and I were just about to get some lunch together. Would you like to join us?" Draco asked.
Hermione smiled wryly. It was the last thing she wanted to do. "Actually I have a lot of work to do." She said as she sat down in her seat and opened her expenses file, hoping the two would get the message and leave her office.
"Maybe we could get a coffee later then? I'll be able to go through exactly what I do and how beneficial it can be to teams." Bella said.
Hermione looked up and gave her a tight smile. "Maybe." She said before looking back down.
"Why don't you go on ahead? I'll be out in a minute." Draco said to Bella.
Hermione's hand tightened around the quill she was holding.
Draco waited until Bella had left the room and shut the door firmly behind her before speaking.
"Bella is one of the best in her company. She's worked with all the leading companies and businesses in the Wizarding World." Draco said.
"And that qualifies her to tell me how to do my job?" Hermione asked.
"She isn't telling you how to do your job; she's informing you on how to better certain skills that will help you do your job."
"Fine." Hermione sighed, not wanting to get into an argument with him. "I will do the course."
When she saw Draco's stormy look she added to her sentence. "And I will take it seriously."
"Thank you." Draco said before he turned around and left the room.
ooo
At 13:30, Hermione and her team were back in the VIP Suite for the second task. Thankfully lunch service had gone without a hitch and there were only a few minor problems with Zac. Hermione had however demoted him from waiter to odd jobs just to avoid any other problems. Fiona had been calling constantly, as had her mother. It seemed like just as the pair settled on one thing, they received some information on another socialite who'd had the same thing at one of her parties and the plans were thrown out of the window.
"I wonder what she's going to have us do now." Heather said.
"Probably pair us up and make us fall into each other's arms so we can trust each other." Hermione muttered under her breath.
Blake and Heather, the only two to hear her, smiled and laughed.
"Right, so in this task everyone but Hermione will be blindfolded. Lucy if you please." Bella said and Lucy stepped forward. A blindfold was conjured to cover Lucy's eyes.
"Lucy is the cat in the game. The rest of you will be mice. It is up to Hermione to keep you out of the cat's way and get all of you from one side of the room to the other in one minute. At the end, we see how many mice have managed to evade the cat's path thanks to Hermione's instructions."
Blake, who was Muggle-born just like Hermione scoffed. "Playing Blind Man's Bluff. How-" he caught sight of Draco's look, "beneficial to running my bar. Let's get started shall we?" he said with faux excitement.
The staff walked over to the end of the room before blindfolds were conjured to cover their eyes. Hermione looked at Bella to see when she could start and when an alarm sounded, havoc descended onto the room.
Jean, Heather, Blake and John didn't wait for Hermione's instructions but immediately started running blindly towards the other end of the room.
"Blake go left." Hermione shouted above the mayhem. Blake followed her instructions but went too far and crashed into John. The two fell to the floor in a laughing tangle of limbs.
Hermione couldn't stop her laughter when she caught sight of the two of them. "Heather run, Lucy's behind you!"
Heather made a sprint and safely reached/crashed into the end wall. Well at least one mouse was safe.
"Thirty seconds to go." Bella chimed in just as Lucy managed to snag the back of John's shirt.
Hermione's phone buzzed in her pocket and she read the latest message from Fiona. Apparently, sea bream would be much more classy and elegant than the salmon originally planned for the main course. Hermione made a mental note to talk to Jean.
"Fifteen seconds." Bella chimed in again.
Oh bugger.
"Blake you have a clear run, go." She told him. Lucy dived to the right on impulse and the two collided. Out went Blake.
There was another buzz from Hermione's phone.
"Five, four, three, two, one. Game over."
The blindfolds were vanished and everyone looked at each other to see where they were. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Draco shaking his head.
"Well, one across. Two caught and one in limbo. I think it's safe to say that's a fail."
Bella's words were met with silence.
"Okay everyone. Back to work." Draco said.
For the second time that day, the team trailed out of the room.
ooo
At 14:03, Hermione was on the phone in her office when Draco walked through the doors. His angry stance had Hermione hanging up on her call and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled.
"Look about earlier-" she began.
"You assured me that you would take this seriously." Draco cut in.
"I-I did." Hermione said.
"No Hermione. You didn't. I know you. If you had put your mind to it you wouldn't have failed. I paid a lot of money for Bella to come here for the day. How do you think it makes me look when my General Manager doesn't take this seriously? How do you think you look? To your team. To Bella."
"Excuse me? I couldn't give a toss on what I look like to her." Hermione interjected loudly.
"Your job is to lead your team. You can't even get them to do the simplest of tasks! Which means you're failing to do your job!" Draco replied back even louder.
"Because I failed her silly little game? I told you that I have a lot on this week; something you would know if you'd bothered to come to today's meeting on time. I hardly think her games take first priority. I make one little mistake and suddenly I can't run HA8?"
"Stop being so condescending."
"No!" Hermione yelled. "I will be condescending because I am bloody well good at my job. And if anything, I have over-preformed in my time here." Hermione finished by slamming the quill she was holding down on the table. She could feel the beginnings of tears gathering in her eyes and she adamantly wished that she wasn't such a easy crier. Every time she got angry her eyes filled with tears.
"I know you have." Draco agreed quietly.
Hermione looked up at him in surprise.
"There is one more task left after dinner service and I expect you to take it seriously. Show Bella…and me, that you are the best person for this job."
On that threatening note he started to walk towards the door.
"Why do you care so much what Bella thinks anyway? Who is she? One of your sluts?" The angry words were out of Hermione's mouth before she could stop them.
Draco stopped in his tracks and turned around. "We may have a history Miss Granger but you would do well to remember that I am still your boss."
He opened the door and slammed it shut behind him.
ooo
At 15:30, Hermione was sat at the bar as Blake went through the drink order with her for Friday's party. When he popped off his stool to go and grab another list of drinks he'd let on his desk, Hermione was interrupted.
"Hermione. Can I talk to you for a minute?" John asked.
"Of course you can."
"It's about these tasks we've been doing. I know you think they're a bunch of Hippogriff dung and to be honest, so do I but it seems like it's important to Draco. A lot of people are worried about losing their jobs and if doing well in these exercises means keeping them then we need to do well... And to do well we need your help."
Hermione sighed. "Okay. I promise I'll start taking it seriously." Hermione vowed.
John smiled before he walked back to his own front desk.
ooo
At 19:00, Hermione was coming from the kitchens when she unconsciously glanced towards the restaurant. Her eyes fell on Draco and Bella and she slowed her walk to a crawling pace. They were seated at a table for two as he poured her a wine glass. In the soft lighting of the room, it looked like they were on a romantic date. Maybe they were? Draco certainly hadn't denied her earlier accusation.
Hermione gave them one last look before she hurried on towards her office. When she'd closed the door behind her, she leaned against it and admonished herself.
She had no right feeling annoyed that he was on a date with Bella. They'd broken up nearly two years ago. Sighing heavily, she walked towards her desk and sank into her chair.
Draco had flitted from witch to witch since their break-up, his conquests always being extensively detailed about in the Prophet and Witch Weekly. Reading the words and seeing the pictures had hurt Hermione for the first few months but then she had learnt to avoid them.
However, ever since Draco had bought HA8 last month, she'd found her eyes straying towards the numerous articles that recorded his love life more often than not.
It wasn't even the fact that he was dating so many witches that annoyed Hermione. It was the fact that they were all stick thin, tall and blond to her curvy, not so tall and brunette. Just like Bella. Why it bothered her- well she refused to think about that.
Glancing at the watch on her desk she groaned. Five more hours and she would be done for the night. More importantly, she would hopefully be done with Draco Malfoy.
ooo
"You have a good team here." Bella commented as she forked her salad daintily.
"Really?" Draco asked.
"Hmm." She murmured. "A good mix of personalities that all balance each other out. Although Hermione…"
Draco looked up from his plate. "Hermione what?"
Bella gave a little smile. "Maybe I shouldn't say anything yet. There's still the last task left for her to redeem herself."
"Hermione is good at her job." Draco found himself defending his ex-girlfriend.
"I'm sure she is. But are you sure that you're completely capable of judging her performance- I mean with your history."
"I didn't realise it might cause a problem." Draco said. He then realised just how wrong his words were. What Hermione had said to him about Bella being one of his sluts wasn't professional but he'd ignored it. Would he have done the same if a stranger had made the comment?
"Like I said, let's wait until tonight and see the results." Bella said as she drained her wine glass.
Draco smiled and refilled it. "Tell me more about your job. It must be enjoyable to apparate around the world."
Bella laughed. "It is, don't get me wrong but it's awfully lonely. It was fine when I first graduated from Beauxbatons but now…I'm thinking more and more of settling down in one place…with the right person."
She gave Draco a look from above her wineglass and he smiled in response.
ooo
At 20:20 Hermione was gearing herself up to apologize to Draco. She saw him at the bar and made her way towards him.
Blake saw her coming and disappeared into the back room. Despite her and Draco's argument taking place in the privacy of her office, the words spoken between the two had flown around HA8 in under two minutes.
Everyone was now walking on eggshells, fearing for their jobs and Hermione couldn't have that.
"Draco." She called out as she neared him. He looked up from his paper but said nothing and so she continued. "I wanted to apologize about what I said earlier. It was wrong of me. I promise to take this last task seriously but I still maintain that I'm good at my job."
Draco folded his paper and set it on his knee. "I don't think I'm the best person to judge that anymore."
Hermione's stomach dropped. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying that with our history, my judgment may be tainted. Bella is an impartial judge and I trust her findings."
Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Merlin, she really has blinded you hasn't she?"
"I don't want to hear it Hermione. I suggest you put your all into this final task and hope that it makes up for your earlier performances."
He stood and walked out.
ooo
At 23:30 Hermione felt dead on her feet. She'd finally managed to get Fiona Davenport and her mother to stick to one plan and she'd spent the last hour or two trying to organize everything so the whole day wouldn't be considered a waste.
She turned off her phone, not that she expected any more calls so late at night and since dinner service and the kitchen was closed, the Head Staff were once again in the VIP Suite, all furtively wishing that this latest task wouldn't take too long.
Bella and Draco walked into the room after a few minutes and hush fell.
"Right." Bella smiled brightly. "The last task will give you a chance to bring together everything you have learned on my course. As General Manager, Hermione will once again be team leader."
Hermione saw Lucy and Heather's face fall but John gave her an encouraging wink which she replied to with a small smile.
"As you all know, ever since the attacks on Diagon Alley during the War, the Ministry has made it mandatory that all businesses carry out evacuation drills so that witches and wizards can be moved to safety in the event of an emergency. I will be simulating such an attack and Hermione, you will be leading your staff and your "diners" to safety in a set period of time."
Hermione nodded her head. It sounded simple enough and HA8 had carried out at least two drills in the six months she had worked here.
Bella handed out red cards to the staff except Hermione.
"Each of these cards represents a situation that you will need to overcome as a team. If the staff would like to make their way to the Ballroom where the simulation will take place, I'll explain the further details to Hermione."
John gave her one last smile and waved his red card at her before he left the room. He was soon followed by the others. When Hermione was the only one left along with Draco, Bella asked her if she had any questions.
Hermione shook her head mutely.
"Shall we." Draco said to Bella.
The two departed and Hermione followed behind them. When they stepped into the elevator that led directly into the ballroom, Bella spoke again.
"This is an exercise to test how quickly you can get your customers to safety and therefore you cannot use your wand." She informed Hermione.
Hermione sighed at the information. As if she would be wandless when she found herself in a crisis. The Ministry had drilled it into everyone's heads that your wand should always be with you. However, she kept quiet and said nothing.
"The simulation will start as soon as the doors open. You have three minutes to evacuate your staff and 15 trapped diners."
"Good luck." Draco said.
Hermione smiled at him wanly. The doors pinged open and Hermione stepped forward…right into a warzone.
The simulation was representative of HA8 to the last detail. In places it was pitch black with the only light coming from the fires in various locations or the hexes being thrown around the vicinity by the "Death Eaters".
Hermione saw the first "diner" and rushed over to help him.
"Hermione. You're the co'ordinator. You can't take an active role." Bella said.
"I can't do both?" Hermione asked in a voice that showed how ridiculous the stipend was.
"Those are the rules. Twenty seconds gone."
Hermione grit her teeth and turned away from her.
"Blake, John!" she shouted. "Where are you?" She had to duck to avoid a curse before she heard Blake answer.
"By the bar."
"Okay, Blake check the toilets and bring any guests to the evacuation exit doors. John, start helping the guests in the restaurant. Lucy! Heather!"
"We're over here!"
"Start helping the injured to the doors."
There was shuffling as the diners were moved to the doors.
"One minute gone."
Hermione ignored Bella. "Why is this taking so long?" she yelled as she was forced to hide behind a table.
"Oh, I'm supposed to inform you now that the evacuation doors have been buried in rubble fallen from the ceiling." came Jean's voice.
"Okay. Start moving people towards the entrance doors."
"I have two guests whose injuries are too severe to be moved any further." John said woodenly.
"Okay. Leave them and start moving the people who can walk. Heather? Where are you?"
"I was cursed and am now lying in a pool of my own blood. If I am not given emergency attention by a Healer soon I will die." Heather said, her words accompanied by an over exaggerated dying sound.
"Okay Heather we'll get to you in a minute. The rest of you start moving everyone who can walk out of the building. Blake tend to the injured."
"You're going to get to me in a minute! My card says I'm going to die soon." Heather said indignantly.
"Heather we need to get as many diners out of the building as possible."
"Are you sure you want to leave one of your own staff?" Bella chimed in.
Hermione snapped. "We leave her for the moment and concentrate on the uninjured diners. Jean, you lead."
"Oh wait. I was supposed to have died thirty seconds ago." With that Jean dropped to the floor.
"Oh Jean. I'll miss your cooking." Lucy giggled.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Blake where's John?"
"I don't know, I haven't seen him."
"He was just with you. John!"
A voice behind her spoke. "Apparently I am on fire." John said in a bored tone.
"Put yourself out using your wand!" Hermione told him.
"Uh-uh, no wands Hermione."
Hermione stared daggers at Bella before Draco caught her gaze. He was watching her with those expressionless grey eyes. Hermione turned away.
"Okay Blake, carry as many of the lighter guests to the door."
"Oooh there is an army of Death Eaters waiting for us outside the front doors." Lucy informed as she read off her card.
"The back door then!"
There was an alarm ringing and the simulation disappeared. Hermione turned towards Bella.
"And that's three minutes over. The army of Death Eaters have caused the building to collapse and HA8 hasn't been evacuated. Everyone's dead. I'm very sorry Hermione. You did your best." Bella turned and walked back to the lift.
Hermione was left looking at Draco before he too turned around and walked to the lift. He and Bella disappeared.
"Let's go and get a cup of tea." John said.
The rest of the Head Staff walked off towards the lift behind him. Blake paused beside her and gave her a commiserating look before he followed.
Oh bugger.
ooo
At 23:45 the restaurant had just bid goodbye to its last diners. Everyone was sitting in the Staff Room drinking tea silently when Hermione entered.
"Hello." She said.
There were dejected murmurs in reply.
"Blake, can I have a word with you?"
Blake stood from his chair and made his way over to her. "Don't beat yourself up about the task. It was difficult."
"Thank you but you weren't the one who failed. Anyway I don't want to talk about that. Have you seen Zac? I need to talk to him."
Blake's brow furrowed. "No I haven't. Isn't he at the bar?"
"No."
Draco walked into the canteen and all murmurs of conversation stopped.
"Heather. I was just on the phone to the bank and they said that yesterday's takings weren't deposited?"
"Yes. I gave the sack to Hermione."
"Yes. I was with someone so I put it in my desk drawer. I was going to deposit it with tonight's takings." Hermione said.
"I checked your desk. It's not there."
"What?"
"It isn't there." Draco repeated.
Hermione glanced towards Blake and could tell that they'd both come to the same horrible conclusion.
"Um Draco. Can I talk to you in private please?"
"Here will be fine." He replied coldly.
Hermione took in a deep breath. "Okay. Um the man I was with when Heather dropped off the sack was someone who I offered a waiter job to. He's been having some problems on the work front and so I decided to help him out."
"Help him out how."
"Well, I-I gave him a job and said that if he gave me his CV I would ask around to see if anyone was hiring."
"Right well where is he?"
"Um, I can't seem to find him anywhere at the moment."
"Ring his number."
Hermione shifted from one foot to the other. "Um I didn't actually get his number. He was only supposed to working the one shift today because the budget is so tight."
There was silence for five seconds and Hermione gulped.
"So you take in a man with no experience, ignore protocol by not taking his details and he repays you by stealing the takings."
"No, we don't even know if he was the one who took the money." Hermione protested.
"Of course he's taken the bloody money!" Draco yelled. "Merlin, when are you going to stop being so bloody naïve?"
"Well at least I try to help people. You just pretend to when all you're interested in is using them to get what you want!" Hermione shouted back.
Draco laughed and scoffed at the same time. "That's got nothing to do with anything. YOU SCREWED UP!"
"ONCE! I made one mistake. The number of times where you've messed up and I've had to bail you out-"
Draco cut her off but she continued talking in the background while he yelled back. "I didn't want your help! You shouldn't have stuck your little nose where it wasn't wanted and INTEREFERED!"
The last word he bellowed so loudly that it caused Hermione to stop talking and everyone flinched at the sound. Once again, she felt tears begin to cover her vision. She swallowed convulsively to remove the lump from her throat.
Draco merely stared at her. "Bella was right. This is never going to work between us. There's too much history."
The first tear fell and Hermione quickly wiped it away. Sticking her chin in the air she tried to adopt the best professional look she could under the circumstances.
"Well let me clear up the problem for you… I resign."
Hermione saw her staff's heads snap up at her words but her gaze remained on Draco.
"Fine." He said plainly.
Hermione swallowed. "Fine... Effective immediately." And she walked out of the room.
A few seconds later, Draco apparated out, leaving the staff reeling.
"So much for team building." Blake commented.
ooo
It didn't take Hermione long to clear out her desk. A few seconds to wave her wand and accio her possessions towards her and she was done. She took a moment looking over her office before deciding it would be best to leave before she saw Draco again and completely broke down.
At 23:53 she was walking out of the room to say goodbye to the rest of her staff.
By 23:57 she had said her goodbye's and was heading out of HA8 when she caught sight of Draco coming out of her office. He said nothing and neither did she. Stepping out onto the pavement, she let the door to HA8 close behind her.
ooo
"There you are." Bella said as she saw Draco staring blankly at the entrance doors of HA8. "I was looking for you. Shall we go into the office?"
Draco exhaled loudly but nodded his head. He led Bella into the office and closed the door.
"I'm really sorry it worked out like this with Hermione but don't beat yourself up about it." Bella said.
Draco rubbed a hand over his tired face. "I just don't understand what happened. I don't have a clue on where I'm going to find a General Manager like Hermione before Friday."
Bella walked over to where Draco was seated and rubbed his shoulder in compassion. "You just need a fresh start. This is a good thing…Listen if you're really in a bind I'd be willing to help out for a little while."
Draco looked up with narrowed eyes. "Pardon me?"
Bella turned away from him and fiddled with her papers. "Well, I spent a few months working with the General Manager of Carpe Diem in Hogsmeade. I picked up a few things…"
"You want to take over Hermione's job?"
"I told you that I'm looking to settle down. This seems like a great opportunity. We'd be helping each other out."
Draco looked down towards the papers Bella was fiddling with. "Can I see those for a moment?" he said.
Bella handed over the papers before continuing. "It would only be for a short time, until you find someone better qualified. But I understand that you need someone before Friday and since I'm already well liked by your team I thought-" she turned back around and stopped when she saw the furious look on Draco's face.
"The rules for the final task. It says here that wands are allowed. You told Hermione and the rest of the staff that they weren't."
Bella laughed nervously. "Those are merely guidelines. I did what I thought was best to show you Hermione's hindrances."
"You deliberately undermined her."
"I was merely trying to help you. You saw what she was like in the first two tasks-"
"I think you should leave now." Draco said coldly.
"Draco I-"
Draco stood from his chair. "Get out. Now."
There was a heavy silence where Bella's mouth opened and closed with no noise spilling forth before she finally gave in. She gathered the remainder of her papers and walked towards the door. She gave Draco one last beseeching look which he ignored before she slammed it shut.
As soon as she had done so, Draco threw his glass towards the door. The crystal splintered into a thousand pieces against the wood. The shards hadn't settled on the floor before there was a knock on the door and a man's head popped around the door.
"Hi. You haven't seen Hermione have you?" he asked.
"No. Who are you?" Draco asked, knowing he was being rude but not caring.
The man walked into the room hesitantly, looking at the glass that was crushed to dust as he walked over it.
"I'm Zac. Hermione hired me earlier today. I thought she might want to see me and I have a deposit slip to give her."
"What?" Draco demanded.
Zac took out a pink deposit slip from his pocket. "Deposit slip from Gringotts. For today's and yesterday's takings. I know Hermione was planning on doing it but she seemed really busy with this party on Friday and the team building stuff. My Dad owns a cauldron shop a few roads down and I know how important it is to get the takings to the bank every night. Is she around?"
Draco swore. "No, no she isn't."
ooo
It was 08:30 on Tuesday morning.
At 08:31 Hermione Granger was still in lying in bed staring up at the ceiling.
At 08:33 her mobile rang for the fifth time that morning. Hermione continued to ignore it and turned away from the noise. Her head now burrowed under the duvet, she closed her gritty tired eyes and tried to fall back asleep in vain.
At 08:45 she gave up and angrily shoved the duvet off her body. Breathing heavily she sat up and looked around her room. She had nothing to do today. She hadn't had a free weekday in years. What was she supposed to do? The obvious answer was to look for another job but the thought was too depressing to even think about at the moment. Instead Hermione stepped out of bed. Maybe some fresh air would help her…and she knew just the place to go.
At 09:45 Hermione was sitting on a shaded bench in Hyde Park. Breathing in the air that was scented with freshly cut grass, she simply watched the world pass her by. There were students lounging around, laughing merrily in the sun a few meters away from her and there was a mother with her young child playing football a little further away.
They all knew where they were going with their lives. It wasn't fair Hermione thought stubbornly.
"I thought I'd find you here."
Hermione snapped her head up at Draco's voice. The sun glinted in her eyes and she had to shade them to make sure that it was actually Draco standing there and not a stranger. The sun bounced off his blond white head.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him with a minimum amount of insolence in her tone.
"Coffee?" he said as he held out a cup for her to take.
Hermione reached out and Draco sat down next to her.
"I went to your apartment last night but you weren't there." He said.
"I moved last year."
Draco nodded his head. "I wanted to apologise. I was wrong when I said that I wasn't able to judge your performance because of our history. You're a good General Manager and you did nothing wrong."
"Thanks for the apology but it's hardly true. I failed Bella's tasks and let someone steal hundreds of Galleons from my office."
"Zac went to deposit the money yesterday night and you didn't fail the task. You were supposed to be allowed to use your wands. Bella told you otherwise because she wanted your job. You actually did pretty well considering."
"That cow." Hermione said after a few moments.
Draco laughed before sobering. "Come back Hermione. HA8 needs you. Your staff need you."
Hermione turned her head to look at him.
"I don't think so Draco." She said with a shaking head.
"Please Mione... I need you."
"You were right when you said that we wouldn't be able to work together. Look at how we acted towards each other yesterday. I mean Merlin- we got into an argument in front of the staff."
"We'll work it out. We always do."
"Not always." Hermione pointed out.
"…This time we will."
ooo
At 10:15 Draco Malfoy apparated back to HA8 and called a staff meeting. The nervous group made their way into the office and took their seats around the table. Draco remained standing.
"Thank you all for meeting me. As you all know, yesterday was not the best or most productive day. Hermione resigning was…unexpected. But HA8 can't grind to a halt and on that note I would like to introduce you to her replacement."
Draco saw the staff glance at each other and hid a smile as he opened the door to allow the witch in.
"Hermione!" Lucy shrieked.
There were excited cries from the other staff and Hermione accepted hugs and kisses from Lucy and Heather.
"You're back!"
"Thank Merlin. This morning Fiona Davenport turned up and we didn't have a clue what to do with her."
"How did you manage to get her to come back?" Blake asked Draco as he opened a bottle of champagne.
"I just explained a few things-"
"And when that didn't work, he groveled." Hermione answered.
Flutes of champagne were handed out and Hermione was surprised when Draco raised his in toast.
"To having the best staff running HA8."
His words were met with cheers.
"I could have told you that for free." Blake couldn't help but interject.
Draco ignored his words whilst the others laughed. "Hermione. Welcome back."
Hermione smiled as the others toasted her. She caught Draco's private nod of his head and her smile widened.
Unfortunately her phone rang at that moment. Fiona Davenport flashed on the screen.
"Oh sorry. I have to take this."
Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Until next time, Curiositykils
P.S. The latest Lords of the Underworld book by Gena Showalter comes out on the 29/03/11. Yay! A few months later we'll have Strider's and then comes Paris'! *sigh* I wish I was Gena Showalter's brain.
