16.
E.C. Johnson- I'm doriansportrait after the excellent author Oscar Wilde's book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, the subject of many film interpretations. If that makes me any cooler, that great by me!
After a rather long hiatus, I type again. Cool.
The only thing running through Hermione's head was how strange it felt. But all right. It was intangible, and illicit feeling that was so pleasurable. She closed her eyes.
Suddenly, her brain seemed to catch up to her, and a tense feeling welled up into her chest. With a gasp, she broke her lips from contact, and scrambled backwards, away from Draco's confused face. His eyes rolled, and he closed them with a contented sigh.
Hermione rubbed the back of her hand across her mouth, and rushed outside the room. She leaned against the hallway wall.
"Not like this. It wasn't supposed to be like this."
Hermione wasn't naïve, but she knew that it wasn't the way she had envisioned it. At all. Her first kiss wasn't supposed to be with a high, doped up, man she loathed. And yet, it was done.
She collapsed onto the bench, and stared into the room at the man who was so strange, so crafty, and so ill. And she finally broke down.
Draco awoke. Slowly, his head pounding, he opened his eyes a crack, and groaned.
"Well then, Mr. Malfoy. It seems like you're stable. You may go back home and to work as soon as the Minister gives his approval. Here is a bottle of the extract if you should feel yourself slipping, but no more than two doses in twenty-four hour period" The exotic figure of Parvati said. Funny, he couldn't seem to lift his eyes above her chest…
"Mr. Malfoy. My face is above that level." She said crisply.
"And if you didn't use such illicit Attraction Potions, it wouldn't be a problem for me." he said with a raspy chuckle. Parvati snapped her clipboard shut with a huff, and stalked out of the room.
"Hit to close to the truth, did I?" He groaned even louder, with no one to hear him, and ripped the monitor off his bicep. It chirped once or twice, and then went quiet, and he tossed the round bit of magical machinery into the trash bin. He came out of the bathroom a few moments later, dressed in the trousers and shirt he had come in with a week ago, his black silk tie slung around his neck untied. Whistling a little, he tossed the bottle of drugs in the air, and pocketed it.
He stepped into the quiet halls, and strolled down to the reception desk, to sign his release papers. Scrawling his signature, he suddenly heard a fast staccato of heeled steps coming down the quiet hall. Looking up, he tried not to smirk as he greeted her.
"Hey. Hermione. Fancy seeing-" He broke off, a rather confused frown on his face as Hermione swept right by him, her face stony and resolute. She continued right down the hall and took a turn to another wing.
"Huh. Suppose she's mad about something else. Barmy girl" He said out loud.
"Oh. Are you and Dr. Granger good friends?" asked the perky Medi-Wizard student behind the desk serving her share of receptionist's duty. He shoved the parchment at the petite girl, and started to knot his tie.
"I suppose you could say that." He gruffed. "If the planets realigned themselves, and the time space continuum stopped, we would probably be the best of mates." He said giving her his coy best smile and a wink, Whistling, he left in the same direction that Hermione had gone a moment earlier.
"wow." The receptionist breathed.
Hermione stopped, and stifled a sob.
"Doctor? Doctor? You 'k?" asked the tiny voice of a young blonde toddler, tugging on her lab coat. She was under evaluation in the children's wing. She had been abused by her older uncle, and was undergoing therapy to help her become a functioning young girl again. She had grown rather attached to Hermione, and was often right next to her like a shadow when she went through the wing. But this part of the Psychiatric Ward was no place for a young child.
"Mary! What are you doing out of your area?" she said gently, picking up the four year old to eye level.
"You look sad. And I was bored. There weren't any good toys. And Bertie took my Elephant Nose Hat." She said petulantly. Laughing lightly, Hermione turned around to head towards the Children's Wing. Only to come face to face with a swath torso covered in grey silk.
She quickly tried to sidestep to the right of the tall figure to pass him without any eye contact, but he sidestepped in the same direction. Frustrated, she stepped to the left and again to the right, but he thwarted her every move. Stubbornly, she refused to look up.
"Draco. I need to take her back now." She said as calmly as possible.
"No reason why we both can't take her back. I have a diplomatic warrant as a member of the ministry, so don't even try pulling your authority." He said quietly. He reached over and took Mary in his own arms, and bounced her once.
"So girlie. Where do you belong?" he asked. Hermione picked up her clipboard, still avoiding his gaze, and started walking.
"My name isn't girlie. 's Mary." She said folding her arms with a fastidious expression on her face. "and I want my hat back."
"Really? Now who took your hat?" he said walking a step in front of Hermione, walking into a wing where the hallways were a bright yellow, with pictures of clowns and other circus paraphernalia on the walls. As they passed, a rather rotund looking pink elephant in a tutu gave Mary a welcoming trumpet and she giggled.
"was Bertie. He took my elephant nose hat. Please Dr. 'mione. Make him give it back…" she said with round eyes that Hermione often found hard to resist.
"I have a better idea." Draco said with an odd cheer in his voice. "I know two blokes, rather funny chaps. I'll bet they'll bring hats for everyone in here if I ask. Is that a good idea you think?" He said bouncing her again.
Mary clapped her hands in glee. "Oh yes yes!"
She gave a quick glance at Hermione's face.
"I mean, Thank You for thinking about me Mr. Dr.'mione's Husband." She said in a singsong voice, indicating that this polite courtesy had been drilled into her. They reached her room, and Draco let her down and she rushed to tell her roommate about the toys that were arriving soon.
"Huh. Fancy that." Draco said shrugging noncommittally. He turned and realized he was speaking to air, as Hermione's back turned the corner.
She slammed her clipboard onto the receptionist's desk, and picked up the quill to sign herself out. She sighed. In the back of her head, she knew she was being a little bit unfair. He couldn't remember what he'd done. First trying to hurt her. Then kissing her. But still, he was so…so…nonchalant. It was grating.
"Did you meet your friend?" asked the receptionist.
"What?" she asked startled out of her reverie.
"Mr.Malfoy. He looked keep upon you." The dark haired girl said with a giggle. Parvati picked her head up from the back of the area.
"Pay her no mind 'Mione. Bloke could hardly keep his eyes of my knockers, much less concentrate on being a functioning human being."
The receptionist and Hermione exchanged a look. It was common knowledge that Parvati spent a good portion of her paycheck at Mme. Venus's Love Potionary.
"Anyway, I expect that both of you will refrain from interfering in our patients lives, and continue your work." She said tartly, taking off her lab coat and throwing it on a coat hanger that grabbed it with its wooden arms out of the air. She picked up her bag, and apparated back home.
"Hoity toity aren't we?" sniffed the receptionist.
"Oh leave her alone love. She's gone through enough without our cackle. Now tell me. Was he really eyeing her?" Parvati whispered.
"Oh blimy, was he…"
"So are we clear?" asked Dumbledore, his eyes scanning the four faces in front of him.
"Yes, but is this right? Shouldn't Hermione know?" Neville asked quietly.
"Yeah, and Draco." Added Fred.
"I think." Snape interrupted, "That our Minister is suggesting that our plan will not work unless the two of our reconnaissance people are in the dark as to our plans.
"I hope this works. Or we're going 'have a very angry Hermione and Draco on our hands. At least Hermione angry is somewhat attractive and sexy in an odd way. But Draco…" George broke in.
"..But Draco could rip us apart." Finished Neville.
"Correct. Now then, are we agreed after knowing the risks this could entail?" Dumledore asked quietly.
"Yes."
"I guess."
"Agreed, Minister."
"Right."
AN- As usual. Tell me what you think. Any improvements?
Teaser- Hermione spills to her mate….draco is mortified…and what isFred trying to do?