AN: Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
Ms. Sorelia hated complications almost as much as she hated people who ran late to meetings. Complications and tardiness cost money. Money was the last thing Ms. Sorelia wanted to lose.
She took a drag of her cigarette and leaned back in her blue padded chair. The room was lit by a florescent light, the walls a bright white and the carpet a dull gray. There wasn't a spot in the room, not a clod of dust on the floor. It was kept immaculate, just as she liked it.
Tonight, she was grateful she was on the twenty-fourth floor of the Sears Tower. It was high enough that most people wouldn't notice the silhouettes of her and her companions. As far as the other businesses in the skyscraper were concerned, she was a workaholic who stayed up late working out her latest business venture. Given how wealthy she was, she had to work herself to death to be successful. Nobody suspected a thing.
If only they knew the magic that surrounded them each day. They'd be flocking to her for her black market backache relievers and low-cost insulin stabilizers.
Antonio sat to her right, his head bowed, lost in thought over how to defend his latest actions. He knew he should've kept a better eye on Severus, but had failed in this task. She'd make sure he wouldn't let another employee go awry like Mr. Snape.
To her right was Proudfoot, who had been suppressing yawns for the last half hour. Tiberius McLaggen was much more alert, though he crooked his neck every few moments, cracking the bones.
POP!
"Ms. Sorelia?" Someone knocked on the door.
Ms. Sorelia waved her arm, opening the door.
"So glad you could join us, Maxine," Ms. Sorelia snuffed her cigarette out on the orange ash tray. "We were beginning to think you wouldn't show up."
"I apologize for my tardiness," she closed her soaked yellow umbrella and propped it against the now closed door. "I was speaking with a hotel out of Pleasant Prairie, and the conversation ran long."
"Pleasant Prairie?" Proudfoot yawned.
"Yes, it's a town less than ten miles from Kenosha, and right next to the fake address we received from the casino workers."
"What did you find?" Ms. Sorelia's eyes lit up in interest.
"Stephen and Lucinda Whittaker were there," Maxine's lips curled up as she took her seat.
"Was the clerk able to give you a description of them?" Ms. Sorelia asked.
"The clerk couldn't tell me much about Lucinda other than her hair was nicely curled and she was in a black dress. He remembered Stephen though. According to him, he had the greasiest black hair he'd ever seen, and he wore the strangest clothes he'd ever seen. Of course, they were all black."
"That's them," Proudfoot's fatigue evaporated.
"Are they in Pleasant Prairie right now?" Ms. Sorelia asked.
Maxine shook her head. "They checked in on Thursday, and left early Friday morning."
"Did they say where they were going?"
"They asked the clerk for directions to Milwaukee before they left. He said they were absolutely clueless as to what an interstate was, and Stephen was growing irritated with Lucinda's driving. Other than that, he remembered nothing about where they were going."
"So they're in Milwaukee right now," Proudfoot was now sitting at full attention.
"Maybe yes, maybe no," the gleam in Maxine's eyes dimmed. "We already knew they were heading up to Milwaukee due to them arriving at the casino. After that, who knows where they went."
"We'll start searching Milwaukee for any clues on them," Ms. Sorelia began. "If they're there, we've found them. If not, we'll have an idea of where they are."
"Exactly," Maxine said.
Ms. Sorelia grinned. "You've done good Maxine."
"Thank you," she leaned back in her chair. "I aim to please."
"It looks like we'll have to start running more stories about them in the Milwaukee papers," Tiberius began. "We'll start running Ron's interviews in the States non-stop, inundate the news cycle with him and his great love for his fiance. Someone will find her and Snape and turn them in for us."
"That may be easier said than done," Maxine warned.
"Oh," Ms. Sorelia took a cigarette box out of her pocket.
"Yes," Maxine pulled out a newspaper and slid it over to her employer. "The people of Wisconsin are quite distracted at the moment."
Ms. Sorelia put the cigarettes down as she examined the front page. Brett Favre's Future in Green Bay: A Seer's Analysis of his Upcoming Meeting with Aaron Rodgers. She turned to page 2. Could Brett Favre Legally Use Felix Felicis to Keep His Job? Page 3: Brett Favre Silent on Future With Aaron Rodgers: All Will Be Revealed In Conversation. Page 4, Using Tea Leaves to Determine Favre's Emotional State. Even in the potions section contained the story: How to Have Gracefully Graying Hair like Brett Favre's.
"What the hell is this?" She threw the paper across the table.
"Brett Favre is the number one story in Wisconsin now," Maxine said.
"How?"
"Apparently the Packers are going to replace him as the quarterback with Aaron Rodgers."
"Oh for the love of Christ," Ms. Sorelia muttered.
"It's only going to get worse because in a couple of days they're going to meet up."
"I'm sorry, but who the hell are Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers?" Proudfoot snapped.
"Two No-Maj NFL players from Wisconsin," Maxine answered.
"What the hell is an NFL and why is it so important?"
"To put it succinctly, it's a No-Maj sport that Wisconsin wizards have developed a liking for."
Ms. Sorelia ground her teeth together. "Are you telling me that absolutely nobody in Wisconsin is looking for two of the most famous Brits of all time because two no-Majs are having a spat over who throws a football?"
"I've never understood Wisconsinites either, but, yes, that seems to be the case," Maxine admitted.
"How could killing an auror not warrant front page news?" Tiberius took the paper and examined it. "They haven't even run one of my interviews! How could they ignore my tough on crime stance? How could they ignore this British election?"
"They aren't running anything about Snape and Granger," Maxine said. "As far as they're concerned, they aren't news."
"So even in the US Wizarding World, Snivellus and his little girlfriend are hidden?" Venom dripped from Proudfoot's voice.
"This doesn't have to be a terrible thing."
All eyes fell on Antonio.
"If we find Severus and Hermione, we can kill them without too many people noticing," Antonio noted. "Their bodies will disappear without the Wisconsin aurors paying much heed. Even if they're found, they'll just think they were two unlucky tourists who got mugged on the street. If we plan things right, they may think a muggle killed them, leading them to turn it over to those authorities, who would have no idea how to find us."
"If my investigation is to be believed, they have a large sum of galleons with them. It wouldn't be a stretch for them to be robbed," Proudfoot noted.
"So we can make it look like a mugging, which is an advantage." Ms. Sorelia pulled out a cigarette. "What isn't an advantage is that we can't smoke them out."
"We could run something about them in the national tabloids," Proudfoot suggested. "That may pique their interest."
"Yes, but the people of Wisconsin may not read the tabloids, making it pointless," Maxine said.
"We have to keep running the stories though." Ms. Sorelia snapped her fingers. The cigarette lit up. "If we stop running the stories, people in Britain will know something has occurred. Best to keep Ron on the front pages."
"Are we sure we want that idiot's picture on the front page of the paper?" Proudfoot asked. "I know nothing about Brett Favre, but even I think listening to him is more pleasant than listening to Ron."
"The man does love the sound of his voice, and his mother is shrieking banshee." Antonio shuddered. "If I were Hermione, I would run across an ocean to avoid interacting with them again."
"Yes, but we must consider that Hermione and Severus aren't in Milwaukee anymore," Maxine said. "They won a substantial amount of money. They may already be as far away as Minneapolis or Omaha."
"No, they're close to Chicago," Proudfoot said. "Hermione is enough of a Gryffindor to think she can expose us, and Snape won't allow her out of his sight. If they're in the area, it's because they think they can cut a deal to clear their names."
"Good point," Tiberius set the paper down, his disappointment in not seeing his face on the cover still evident.
"It's been a few days though," Maxine said. "He may have been able to get through to her. They could be gone by now."
"Maybe," Ms. Sorelia put the cigarette to her mouth. "Regardless, we have associates in Milwaukee. We should use them to our advantage."
"Agreed," Maxine grinned.
"Here's what we'll do," Ms. Sorelia took a drag of her cigarette. "Maxine, I want you to organize a search party for Severus and Hermione. Let them know that if they get the chance, capture them. We want to make an example of them without tipping off the American aurors that something's amiss."
"I can do that," Maxine said. "I'll even start calling the No-Maj hotels myself."
"As for you two," she turned to the Brits. "Keep doing what you're doing. Make sure nobody knows we're onto these two. I'll put out feelers to some of our plants in the Milwaukee auror department. If they find them, let us know."
"I will," Proudfoot said. "So long as you let me get my say in before we eliminate them."
"So long as you do not cost us an opportunity to kill them without tipping off the aurors I will allow you to do it. One way or another, this Snape and Granger thing is getting resolved, and when it does," she took another smoke. "Nobody will ever betray me again."
If there's one thing Hermione hated, it was going to bed nervous. She always drank too much water beforehand, and never fell into a deep sleep. It was inevitable she'd awaken for a trip to the bathroom.
She glanced at the toilet, wondering if she should flush it. So far, she'd done everything to keep Severus from awakening. She didn't turn on the light until she shut the door to the bathroom, and was as silent as possible. The noise of the toilet could wake him up, but he could consider an unfleshed toilet an unwelcome surprise. Lavender had always been odd about unfleshed toilet in their dorm, shouting at her several times for not flushing it at midnight. Was Severus the same?
Deciding Severus would rather have sleep than awaken to an unfleshed toilet, she washed her hands with soap and walked towards the bed.
Severus was grunting, his eyes squeezed shut. He muttered her name before reaching out to his right, his body convulsing.
Hermione swallowed. She could return to her side of the bed and ignore his nightmare, but that seemed cold. Still, he may consider it slutty for her to be on him. The last thing he needed was an insecure woman hanging on him, even if all she wanted to do was give him comfort.
He called her name again.
Bracing herself for the possibility of being called a slut, she slipped into the bed and touched his forehead. "Shh," she whispered. "I'm right here."
He groaned.
"I'm right here," she brushed the hair from his eyes. "I'm not leaving."
He opened one onyx eye. The intensity of the look took her by surprise. Was her touch too much f him to handle, or was he comforted by her presence?
"Hermione?" He breathed.
She shushed him. "I'm right here."
"You're here, with me."
"Yes, I'm here. We're right here."
"Nobody is near us."
"No, both of us are safe. We're perfectly safe."
"So we are," he exhaled.
"We are." She embraced him.
"You, you're touching me."
She hummed as she nodded.
"I don't want to cause you pain," he croaked. "I don't want you to be scared of me."
"I'm not scared of you."
"You were so scared when you touched me a few nights ago."
She removed the hair from his forehead.
"I don't want to cause you discomfort. If you're uncomfortable, don't touch me. I don't want to hurt you," he pleaded.
"You aren't hurting me. I'm touching you because I want to touch you. I want you to know how much I care for you. You're safe. You'll always be safe with me." She kissed his forehead.
"Very well then." He closed his eyes.
She watched as his breathing slowed and his body relaxed. With a sigh, she pressed her head on his chest. It was a comfort to be touched, especially in light of all they needed to accomplish tomorrow.
Her eyes drooped down as the tension left her body. Let tomorrow sort itself out. Right now, she was with Severus, and they were both safe.
Both of them slept the most peaceful sleep they had in years.