Chapter 2: Putting it Into Motion
Disclaimer: In Chapter One
A/N: Yes Neville and Pansy are married, there seemed to be some confusion on that one. I am sort of known as the Queen of Odd Secondary Pairings…but in my defence, very few of us grow up to marry our high school sweethearts, although I do think about mine (and his mullet) from time to time.
It wasn't until Hermione had gotten to her office and was sitting at her desk for some long minutes that she figured out just why she had gotten so many strange looks that morning. Yes there was a reason, and that reason made her put her head down on her desk and shudder for a few moments. Why? Why? Why?
So much for her wonderful plan of talking the Chairman out of his crazy raffle scheme. Oh no, the ad was already in the paper and she had just seen it. Of course the advertisement was as humiliating as she had imagined it would be. Hermione Granger, delightful and morally upstanding Hermione Granger, she reminded herself, wanted to do something unspeakable to Professor Chilton. Her dear old Chairman was turning out to be just as interfering as the late Professor Dumbledore. She felt like walking to his office and hexing the last few remaining hairs off of his head! She wouldn't of course, but entertaining the idea made her feel better for a moment until she realized she was still the subject of a raffle with 500 tickets being sold right now. Or worse, not being sold. Wait, the tickets being sold was worse, yes that was worse. All of the tickets being sold to people she didn't know WAS worse than the humiliation of none of the tickets being sold.
With a groan her head was on her desk again, and just as quickly she was on her feet heading for the door. She had to purchase all those tickets before it was too late. Her mind raced with how to liquidate some of her savings. Why hadn't she thought of this before? Not stopping to acknowledge anyone along the way she made it to the Chairman's office her mind still in a muddle of schemes.
"Aggie is he in?" Hermione smiled down at Professor Chilton's secretary.
That good woman looked up from her work to send an answering smile to Hermione.
"Go right in Hermione, he told me to expect you. I don't see you on his schedule, did I forget an appointment again?"
"Oh no nothing like that Aggie, it was a last minute thing, thank you." He must have known she would come seeking him out after he had put the ad in the paper and she wasn't about to disappoint them.
Hermione moved toward the closed office door practicing what she would say, unfortunately when she opened the door there was no way she could utter anything intelligent, to be fair nothing more than… "Uhhh….you…." escaped her lips before she was helped to a chair.
Her head turned slowly and found her eyes meeting the grey eyes of one of her least favourite people. What on earth was Draco Malfoy doing here? She couldn't imagine.
"Granger." Draco whispered and touched her arm, causing her to look down in bewilderment at the long fingers caressing her forearm.
"Your young man has been here attempting to force my hand Hermione." The Chairman chuckled.
Her young man? She felt those fingers tighten on her arm and she had the sick realization Professor Chilton meant Malfoy. A shudder ran through her and she shook off Draco's hand shooting him, what she hoped was a look of death. He didn't seem overly concerned and smirked at her. Eww, she was going to be sick.
"…As I was explaining to your Mister Malfoy, the maximum number of tickets that can be sold to any one individual is 10, we want to give everyone an equal chance." At Professor Chilton's words she smiled at Draco and gloated. He only had ten chances to win the raffle. Ha! (What didn't cross her mind until much later is why on earth he wanted to win the raffle at all.) Not that Malfoy looked upset, indeed the smirk didn't leave his face.
"Well I suppose there is nothing more I can say then?" Draco got up, holding a hand down to Hermione. What game was he playing. She didn't even look at the hand and stayed firmly in her seat.
"Go ahead Hermione, I won't stand in the way of young love, this time." The Chairman winked and Hermione was reminded once again of twinkling eyes and half moon spectacles. The whole situation caught her so off guard that moments later she found herself outside the building with her hand tucked firmly in the crook of Draco Malfoy's arm.
"Urgh…eww…" Twisting her arm Hermione wrenched herself away and stood to glare at Draco.
He grinned and raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you here?" She was still brushing off the sleeve of the jacket that had come into contact with him, which didn't seem at all childish at the moment.
"I could be here to further my education." He suggested.
She snorted in derision.
"No? Well perhaps you're right." And with that he turned and walked away, leaving her the option of either following him to demand an explanation or to go back to her office and pretend that this was all a very bad dream. Neither option appealed to her and she just stood brooding, watching Malfoy's back .
It wasn't until later that afternoon that she realized she hadn't talked to Professor Chilton about her purchasing all the tickets herself. With his 10 tickets per customer rule she doubted he would allow her even that face saving action. She put the raffle as far out of her mind as she could when a new shipment of muggle manuscripts came in for her to catalogue.
The new manuscripts kept her busy until well after her normal end time and she dragged herself home happy that the day was over. Checking the magic mirror on her wall for messages she removed her jacket. Ron had left an incomprehensible message about the Cannons and Harry. The next message was from her publisher and finally one from Harry that explained what Ron had been attempting to tell her. Harry would be leaving the country for a month for Quidditch training camp in America, it appeared they wanted to have a farewell dinner after work the next evening. She could only hope that it wouldn't turn into Ron and Lavender in raptures over their three children, and Harry's newest 'true love' in raptures over him.
Hermione made herself some tea and sat eating at her small table, Crookshanks ambled slowly from the lounge room to twine himself around her ankles. She could feel him purring happily, a warm weight on her feet.
Her mind drifted back to earlier, what had Draco Malfoy been doing today? Why was he at the University? Professor Chilton seemed to think that he and she were in some sort of romantic relationship. What and why had Malfoy said to make him think that?
She hadn't seen Draco Malfoy since the trials after the war, and had hoped to keep it that way. True he had changed sides after the death of Albus Dumbledore, when it came to light that Professor Snape had made unbreakable vows to both Narcissa Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore both promising to protect Draco at all cost.
The fact that Draco Malfoy had had a change of heart didn't make him someone that Hermione wanted to ever see again. The fact that he had fought bravely, or as bravely as any Malfoy would fight, didn't make him a good person in Hermione's eyes. The fact that he had killed his father when Lucius Malfoy had tried to kill Harry, did make Hermione grateful in some level to him, but didn't make her like him. She was quite content living in the same city as Draco Malfoy, reading about him in the newspaper every now and again, but for the most part forgetting he existed.
Hermione almost choked to death the next morning while reading the paper. Draco Malfoy had placed a full page ad that made her suck in a deep breathe and start screaming for as long as the breath held out. What was the man thinking? She screwed up the copy of the paper and flung it to the floor.
She hastily got dressed, slicked her hair back in an untidy twist and flooed directly to the Malfoy Industries building.
Stopping briefly she checked the building directory, the whole top floor of the building was Draco's office. The long walk up all the stairs did nothing to dull her anger at the man, she burst into the lobby area and moved toward the receptionist's desk.
"Is he in?" The woman looked up and took in Hermione's dishevelled appearance and looked back down at her appointment book.
"Is he expecting you Miss…?" The woman waited expectantly for Hermione to produce her name.
"Granger, Hermione Granger."
"I am sorry I don't see your name Miss Granger, can I make an appointment for you, if you leave your information for me I will contact you as soon as he has some available time." She handed Hermione a quill and a piece of parchment, ostensibly to write down her information. Hermione wasn't willing to be dismissed so easily.
She handed the parchment and quill back to the receptionist and walked toward the large double doors located on one side of the room.
"Wait Miss…Granger, he is in…" She trailed off and Hermione pushed the doors open and entered the room, shutting them behind her firmly.
All the people, sitting around the what appeared to be a conference room table, turned at Hermione's entrance, except Draco who was sitting at the head of the table facing her, and Pansy who was sitting next to him taking notes with a self writing quill.
"Hermione." Pansy said and turned quickly to Draco. "You did it didn't you Draco?"
"Ladies, Gentleman, I must introduce the ever charming Miss Granger. Hermione to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"
Suddenly Hermione became conscious of her clothing and hair and of all the eyes in the room on her and she reached for the handle behind her only to feel it lock with a flick of Draco's wand.
"Leaving so soon?" He chuckled.
"Draco, stop this at once. Alohamora!" Pansy had her wand out and unlocked the door for Hermione who took advantage of the rescue and was halfway across the lobby when Pansy caught up with her.
"Hermione, I told Draco not to do this. I am so sorry, but you know how he is." She put her hand on Hermoine's arm.
"Don't leave I am sure you want to be able to share with him just how you are feeling, and he deserves to hear it all." There seemed to be malicious glee in Pansy's face as she steered Hermione toward another set of doors. These opened into a large office with a smaller office through some glass doors by it's side. This was obviously Draco's office. A huge mahogany desk and chair sat backed by a window. There was a seating area off to the left and a wall of shelves to the right. It looked every bit as pretentious as she had expected it to look. This was where Draco Malfoy made his money.
"Have a seat, I will bring you some tea." Pansy left the room and Hermione moved toward the seating area but was sidetracked by the sight of some books preserved behind glass, in a lighted case. Manuscripts were her specialty and Hermione could see that these were priceless. Her fingers itched to touch them, and if it had been anyone but Draco Malfoy she would have crawled to him on hands and knees just to study them. Why was it that one of the most hateful men she had ever met had something like these in his possession? Oh well, no use thinking about it.
She was sitting perusing a magazine when Pansy came back with the tea, pouring out and handing a cup to her before sitting down.
"So how have you been?" Pansy sat back with a plate of biscuits.
"As well as can be expected, how long is his meeting. I have to get to work." Hermione didn't want to be rude to Pansy, they had become friends of sorts after the other's marriage to Neville, but she didn't want to stay any longer than possible either, she was staring to wonder if coming here had been a big mistake. Bearding the serpent in it's den? She hadn't even been thinking when she had left her house that morning.
"Oh, not too long. He really needs to know he can't manipulate people like this." Pansy was punctuating with her half eaten biscuit. "You don't know hard it is, at times, being his friend. Hermione sometimes the ways he talks about Neville…" Pansy scowled.
"Um, how is Neville?" Hermione thought she had better try to change Pansy's train of thought.
"Oh, he is doing very well. The business has really taken off, after the baby is born I won't be coming back to work. He just got the Hogwarts account, Professer Snape himself came to scrutinize his botanical potion ingredients. Neville was so nervous." Pansy's mood suddenly changed as she smiled happily at Hermione.
"That's great news. So how are you feeling?"
"Huge." Again Pansy smiled happily.
Pansy and Hermione were laughing together when Draco entered the room and for some reason it annoyed him. He had continued his meeting for longer than necessary so that Hermione Granger could cool her heels in his lobby. Little did he know that Pansy would betray him and give the woman tea.
"Thank you Pansy for keeping Granger company, I need you to recopy the Patterson agreement." His words fell on deaf ears as the two kept talking. Hermione was touching Pansy's stomach and they both smiled.
"Oh Draco, I didn't hear you come in. Hermione has something she wants to tell you, don't you Hermione?" Pansy patted Hermione on the shoulder and heaved herself up from the sofa.
"Yes I do." Hermione hastily stood as well.
"Here is the newspaper, go ahead tell him what you think." Pansy folded Hermione's fingers around a copy of the University Gazette. Traitor.
"Pansy that will be all." He tried to wave her towards the door.
"What is the meaning of this Malfoy?" Hermione opened the newspaper and thrust it at him.
"Yes what is the meaning of it Draco?" Pansy added crossing her arms across her chest, great this was like fighting with his mother. Women and their righteous indignation. So taxing.
He took the paper from Hermione and pretended to read the ad even though he knew each word by heart. Each word that had made him smile wider and wider as he wrote it.
Every time he read it he liked it more.
"I thought it was clear. Don't worry, it will hardly bankrupt me. Did you want to see the new kiosk downstairs, we are building for this? Pansy will show you." He made a dismissive movement with his hand and turned to walk to his desk.
A blow to the back of his head caught him off guard, though why it should he couldn't really say. Hermione had hit him before. The newspaper that she had thrown was lying at his feet. He picked it up and turned around.
"Yours I believe." He handed it back to Hermione and ushered them both to the door. He shut it in their faces and went to sit behind his desk, a small smile beginning on his face, this was starting to be more fun than he had expected.
Hermione had been somewhat shocked when Pansy had grabbed the newspaper out of her hand and thrown it at Draco Malfoy, and even more surprised when it had hit the back of his head. She hadn't known Pansy could throw like that, nor had she seen those kind of pregnancy hormones since Lavender was pregnant with Robert, Lavender and Ron's first child.
"I am so sorry Hermione. Draco really needs to learn his lesson, he thinks the world will do exactly what he wants them to. Of course I am as guilty as everyone else, I can't tell you thenumber of nights I have stayed late, or missed holidays, just to help him out."
Hermione was watching Pansy carefully, the hormonal mood swings could swing back to rage at any moment and she didn't want it to be aimed at her. Pansy took her arm and led her back past the receptionist's desk and down the stairs.
"It's not that I don't love him, he's my best friend after all, but he is so spoiled. Well here is the kiosk. I don't suppose you will be turning in any tickets." Pansy chuckled slightly at her little joke.
"Sorry that was in poor taste. Well Hermione I will do what I can from my end, I am sure I will see you soon." And with that Pansy had turned and was walking slowly back up the stairs.
The kiosk was very close to being completed, a man was carefully lettering the words "Redeem Your Tickets Here" onto the side. Hermione wished that she could take a Quidditch bat and bludger to the whole thing.
Her meeting with Malfoy hadn't been a success, not that she should have been surprised.
She looked down to see that she was still clutching the newspaper, with shaking hands she straightened it out and read the ad that Draco Malfoy had placed.
"The Governing Body of the Committee for
Muggle Manuscripts Management Division
is selling raffle tickets for a day with the morally
upstanding and delightful Hermione Granger. They are
selling tickets 5 sickles each. For every ticket that is
received by Malfoy Industries prior to the annual
Bazaar you will receive 500 galleons.
Don't Hesitate in the purchase of your tickets, we venture they will go fast.
Contact the representative at Malfoy Industries 35 Belcher Lane."
Throwing the newspaper in the waste basket, Hermione set off for the public floo to head to work.
TBC