Chapter 5

Memory Lane

She was tired when she got back and very glad that she had a few hours to herself to relax. She did a bit of research on dragons before she got ready, knowing that cramming wasn't the best way to do this but it was better than nothing.

She was invited to dinner tonight in the annex. She knew there was a small dining room in the main building but she hadn't seen it used yet. In fact, she hadn't seen any other visitors while she'd been here and she made a note to ask about that.

She wasn't sure how dressed up she should be so she opted for smart casual, checking her appearance as she left. She found her way to the ground floor and saw the corridor to the annex so managed to get there without getting lost.

She entered the hall and then stopped, not quite sure if she should go barging into the dining area because as far as he understood the annex was Draco's private house. She was hovering, undecided when the door opened and Pippa appeared.

"Hermione!" she said (she was the only one so far that didn't insist on calling her Miss Granger). "I said to Toby that he should fetch you or you might get lost!"

They entered the ornate dining room where Hermione had first been reacquainted with Draco but Pippa didn't stop in there and Hermione followed her out of the back of the room, down a narrow corridor and into a blindingly light and very large modern kitchen and dining area.

After the darkness of the other room, Hermione had to blink a few times before she could focus. The room gleamed, with a huge island, a light wood and glass table and full-length windows with views out to the valley across one wall. The word 'wow' was in her head but she manged to keep it to herself and just smiled as Clem handed her a glass of wine.

Draco, Toby and another man were standing by the windows and they came over to greet her.

"Hermione, this is Liam Worthington – he runs the business side of the Serpent's operation," Draco made the introductions while Liam and Hermione shook hands. Hermione made a mental note that he'd just called her by her first name but tried to concentrate on Liam.

"It's an honour to meet you", Liam said. "I was a little starstruck when I came for my interview with Draco and am again now!"

Hermione gave a wry smile and shook her head. "Oh dear! I fear my reputation far exceeds reality!" So, Liam called Draco by his first name? Was this Liam's privilege or because this was a social occasion?

Liam smiled. "I'm liking reality so far!" his eyes told her exactly what he meant and Hermione thought for one mortifying minute she might blush but luckily Draco announced that dinner was ready and they should take their place at the table.

A waitress and waiter were serving drinks and Hermione took her seat between Liam and Toby. There was no cooking going on in the kitchen area so she presumed there must be another kitchen somewhere else close. This place was like a maze!

Once everyone's glasses were filled again, Draco raised his glass and spoke.

"I'm very glad we all managed to be in one place tonight – it rarely happens, but I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued commitment and hard work given to our project. I'm very proud of what we achieve and will achieve in the future!"

Everyone raised their glasses and joined in his toast and Hermione felt herself relax just slightly. She'd wondered if the dinner would be very formal but it would seem not and she was glad.

"I would also like to welcome Miss Granger tonight," Draco continued speaking, now looking directly at Hermione, who was becoming increasingly baffled by what she was being called. She couldn't keep up! She felt like she was in Victorian England and hadn't been taught the rules of etiquette.

Draco was still talking. "As you all know she will be with us for a few days to start the commission given by the W.N.R.O and I'd like you all to give her your full co-operation while she's here. Having seen her previous work, I am very excited to see the paintings of our dragons."

Everyone raised their glasses again and Hermione tried to smile graciously whilst wishing she could duck under the table and avoid the attention. Starters arrived and although Hermione wasn't entirely sure what they were but she ate enthusiastically nevertheless.

"How have you found your first day?" Toby asked her.

"Fascinating," she nodded enthusiastically. "I realise now that I had no idea whatsoever about looking after dragons and had no appreciation of how magnificent they are."

"And utterly terrifying…." Liam added.

"Yes, that too!" Hermione agreed.

"You did very well in the enclosure," Pippa said. She looked very different tonight, her hair hanging by her shoulders.

Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. "I really did not!"

"You did and you followed our instructions perfectly, which is very important," Draco added to Pippa's compliment and Hermione concealed her surprise.

"When she flapped her wings and roared, I was ready to yell at you all to run for your lives," Hermione confessed with a shrug and everyone laughed.

"You were great," Pippa repeated. "By the way, they don't 'flap' their wings -it's called 'pitching'."

"Really? I'm a complete dragon novice, as I'm sure you can tell."

"And yet you hide it so well," Draco commented with a sudden display of the sarcasm she'd been missing earlier but he was smiling as he said it and Hermione gave a little chuckle.

"Don't worry Miss Granger….."

"Hermione, please."

Liam nodded "Don't worry Hermione, I've worked here a while now and everyday I learn something new about dragons!"

"So, how did you all become involved with dragons?" Hermione asked. "It helps with the painting to have some background."

"Are we all being painted?" Pippa asked and Hermione looked over at Draco as she was under the impression it would only be him.

"Yes, well myself, you, Clem and Toby," Draco looked over at Liam. "I'm presuming you'd rather not?"

Liam held up his hands, "Oh no! Definitely not! Unless Hermione wants to paint me behind my desk with Lumos!"

Hermione looked at him puzzled. "Lumos?"

"It's the resident cat," Pippa explained with a chuckle.

Hermione laughed. "Oh! I'm not sure that was what the W.N.R.O. were after…"

"I thought each of us could be painted with a dragon and then one painting could be of Hetty alone?" Draco looked round the table to varying degrees of enthusiasm. Hermione noted the final dragon's name with a grimace. Hetty! For Merlin's sake!

"I'm not sure I'm very exotic or dramatic," Clem said wryly.

"I'm sure Hermione can use some artistic license," Draco teased his employee with a wide grin.

"Can you paint me riding on her back?" Pippa joked and they all laughed.

Starters were removed and mains served. Her drink was constantly being topped up and Hermione tried to slow down a little as it was going to her head. Relaxed was fine, drunk was not!

"So, to answer your question, Hermione, I have always loved animals. I studied exotic animals and then had the opportunity to visit Romania where I lived and worked with dragons as part of a project. That was it! I was hooked. I started here the day it was opened," Pippa was openly enthusiastic.

"I've been here three years," Toby volunteered. "I worked at the Ministry of Magic in the Control of Magical Creatures Department before that. Soon I realised that it was more about 'control' than 'magical creatures' so I responded to Mr Malfoy's advert and here I am! I am still learning – Pippa and Clem are far more experienced than I am." He flashed Hermione a devastating smile. "If you can make me look like an expert in the painting, I'd be grateful."

Hermione nodded. "I'm sure that'll be easy."

She looked over at Clem who gave a shrug. "Like I told you, I look more like a banker than a dragon trainer so I'm not quite sure how I ended up in this profession," he grinned.

"Rubbish!" Pippa punched his shoulder playfully. "You ended up in this profession because you have a magic touch – not wizard magic – just a kind of calming, delicate way of dealing with them."

"I don't know about that," Clem said.

"Well, I do and Pippa is right," Draco said, firmly.

Hermione watched their exchange with interest. Despite the formal boss and employee relationship she'd witnessed since she got here, it was clear that Draco greatly admired and appreciated his staff and that they seemed to not only respect him but like him as well.

She noticed Draco hadn't volunteered how he had become a dragon trainer – their lives had barely crossed since they left Hogwarts other than the debacle of their partners having an affair – so although she knew what he did for a living, she didn't know what had led him to this point. The Hippograff incident at school suddenly sprung to her mind – not exactly a glowing recommendation for a career with animals!

Dessert was being served and Hermione decided that she would have to prompt Draco to tell his story another time. The others fell into an easy chat about their work and the dragons and although Hermione couldn't join in, she was happy to sit and listen to their everyday routines.

"So, I'm guessing you have some interesting tales about our boss from your school days?" Liam's voice broke into her thoughts.

"No, she doesn't," Draco interrupted his conversation about Betty's claw and looked over at Liam and Hermione. She couldn't judge his mood or if he meant it but Liam seemed unperturbed and carried on with his question.

"Don't be shy! I'm sure we'd all like to hear them," he prompted with a chuckle.

"I think I'd be wise to not answer that," Hermione said. "If I want to still work on this commission!" She made it obvious she was joking but there was definitely some truth in her words.

"Good answer!" Draco agreed enthusiastically but she noticed he was half smiling. It was this that made her throw caution to the wind.

She turned to Liam. "Or maybe I could use the information I have to make sure I keep this commission?"

Liam laughed and she could see Draco out the corner of her eye also laughing.

"I should warn you that I also have interesting information about Hermione," Draco said and Liam rubbed his hands together in an over exaggerated fashion.

"No that is something I am also very interested in!" he said.

"Me too!" Toby said and everyone laughed.

Hermione covered her face with her hand and giggled. She didn't actually expect Draco to say anything else but he continued talking.

"If you think the dragons are scary, you haven't been on the receiving end of Hermione's fist!" He grinned widely, obviously not in the least bit bothered about sharing this information and Hermione marvelled at what a contradiction he was.

The other dinner guests all turned to stare at Hermione who did a zip motion across her mouth. "I'm saying nothing."

"You thumped Draco?" Pippa asked.

"A little bit," Hermione said and they all laughed again.

"I think you'll find you can't thump someone a little bit," Toby pointed out.

"Why did you thump him?" Pippa asked.

Hermione glanced over at Draco, wondering how much he wanted her to divulge. "We didn't agree about something," she said, diplomatically.

"That's putting it mildly," Draco said. "Truth is, I was being an arse."

Hermione was truly shocked to hear him admit this, especially in front of everyone who worked for him.

"If that was a reason to thump Draco, I'd be doing it every day!" Clem joked and they all laughed, including Draco.

"That's the early shift for you," he said.