Disclaimer: It's not mine, but you already knew that.
A/N: As promised, the minute I finish a chapter, I post it for your reading pleasure. Finalized, polished chapters are available on Ashwinder, at Sycophant Hex – my beta CharlotteAusten is just a goddess when it comes to editing my chapters. My first copies are posted here, though – I hope the wait wasn't too long for this chapter!
Also, I've moved the rating back up to M. A very light M, but M nonetheless. This chapter is a bit … different … in subject matter. I hope you like it.
That said, happy reading!
--
Hermione peeked an eye open. Sunlight was bursting into the spacious bedchamber; the charmed windows sent the rays spiraling in directionless myriads of colors. Beautiful. Then again, it was always beautiful.
She yawned, sitting up. She squinted, picking up her alarm clock. 9 AM. Setting it down, she reached, stretching her arms behind her head, letting the muscles strain towards the ceiling. She felt her vertebrae crack and shift into the comfortable position … ahh, yes, that was it.
Breathing in deeply through her nostrils, her eyes opened wide. That aroma was familiar, and she was not so daft in her waking hours as to misplace its origin. Dark roast was brewing in the kitchen.
She swung a leg over the side of her bed, grabbing a fistful of white sheet to swath her nude figure in, when a whirlwind of spunky, red-haired personality shot through the bedroom door.
"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!" Ginny grinned widely, eyes wide, hair bouncing. Her eyes widened at her friend's nakedness. She quickly shielded her eyes. "Well, that's more of you then I've seen in a while, thanks for sharing."
Hermione laughed, wrapping the sheet around her torso. "Well, I do live here," she smiled. She stood. "You can look now, Mother Superior."
Ginny lowered her arm, smirking. "Me, a nun, that's a good one babe," she crossed her arms over her chest. Hermione fluffed her hair, taking in Ginny's appearance today. Gin was certainly Bohemian Chic. While a simple green t-shirt and tight jeans were, admittedly, normal, Ginny's added touches – a bright pink driving cap, a knit white waist-length scarf, and spiked black leather boots over the jeans – were certainly out of place in the wizarding world.
Hermione walked over to the closet, shedding her sheet. Ginny quickly shielded her eyes, "You could give me a few seconds warning before you show the goods, Hermione dear."
Hermione slipped on some panties from Marks & Spencers and simple summerwear – white capris and a pink V-neck – in record time. "You know, for all the avant garde clothes you wear, one would think you wouldn't be embarrassed at the prospect of nakedness. After all, you practically live with Harry, and don't tell me you've never seen each other completely in the buff!" She bent over; shaking her curls out, and threw them back over her shoulder as she stood.
Ginny snorted as she and Hermione walked out of the boudoir and made their way to the kitchen. "We've been friends too long. You've obviously forgotten that I have six older brothers. While I've seen my fair share of naked males, naked females in my house were few and far between. I don't think I saw my mother naked after the age of five, and I most definitely did not walk around in my own skin."
Hermione eyed the ready-brewed dark roast on the gleaming counter, and quickly laced her long fingers around the coffeepot. "Everyone was walking in on each other, I suppose?" she said matter-of-factly, pouring the roast into ceramic coffee mugs.
Ginny rolled her eyes, seating herself on the counter beside Hermione. "Far too often. Suffice to say that between my home life and the propriety of Hogwarts showers, the only girls I've seen naked on a regular basis are you – when you're in the mood – and Tonks. I think the girl was raised without clothing, the way she walks around," she said, sipping her cup. "My God, this coffee is fantastic!"
Hermione grinned. "That it is. Minerva only keeps the best in the house," she savored the flavor. She tapped the side of the mug in contemplation. "And Tonks walking around naked must certainly do wonders for Remus."
Ginny choked, spitting into her coffee. "Bloody hell, you can't do that to me! Lupin was our professor!"
"Well, I know that, and I certainly never had a crush on him the way some girls did," Hermione innocently sipped her coffee.
The redhead glared. "I never had a crush on Remus Lupin."
"And I failed my OWLs."
"Damn you to hell, Hermione Granger."
"You'll get there before I do, as you bloody well know."
"And why might that be?"
"You're shacking up with the saintly Boy Who Lived; you may as well have defiled the Holy Grail!"
The girls mutually fell into hysterics.
It was Hermione who recovered first. She sighed. "I suppose you're taking me up on that lost bet." She smiled.
Ginny grinned. "Wizard's Poker is a wicked game, Hermione."
"Not quite like what my family plays in London."
"Well, of course. It's more cutthroat then its Muggle counterpart."
"Even though it's derived from Muggle society."
"Do you really think that?" Ginny winked.
Hermione groaned. Ginny patted her arm.
"I thought you enjoyed learning," she said, her eyes sparkling with laughter.
"Prat," Hermione muttered. The friends took advantage to drink their coffee.
"So," Ginny said, setting down her cup, "We'll go to my flat first, and leave from there."
Hermione blanched. "We're taking a Portkey from your flat to Paris?"
"Of course." Ginny shrugged. "Floo is unpleasant and Apparition is far too difficult."
"I could cross-continental Apparate," Hermione remarked, drinking more of her roast.
Ginny looked at her incredulously. "Have you ever tried?"
"Well … no …"
"It's damned difficult, even for the best wizards. McGonagall doesn't even do it anymore."
"She's getting older."
Ginny waved a hand, brushing the issue aside. "No matter. We'll Apparate to my flat and go from there."
Hermione drained her coffee and rose off the stool, washing the mug out in the sink. "I still can't believe you keep an authorized Portkey in your flat."
"What can I say? Lady Scrimgeour loves me," Ginny exaggerated sarcastically.
"You know, I see why Harry fancies you," Hermione said after a moment.
"Why is that?"
"Because if he didn't, you'd smile evilly and give him the strongest dose of Amortentia known to man … or something equally akin to slavery."
"Bugger off."
"Your flat?"
"Let's go."
--
Letting go of the Portkey, the two women swiftly treaded their way to the ground, landing in the middle of an open field in the Parisian countryside.
"Bonjour," an older gentleman's voice boomed. He walked towards them, tipping his bowler cap as he did so. He was of medium height, very stocky, with splashes of graying hair interspersed with the chocolate brown tufts that stuck out from under his cap. His beard was thick and unruly, and entirely gray.
Hermione and Ginny walked towards him. Hermione slowed her pace as she examined the countryside. The rolling green hills and flower were beautiful – they looked like something out of an Impressionist landscape, she thought.
"Bonjour!" Ginny greeted cheerfully. She turned, gesturing for Hermione to keep walking.
"Ahh, Mademoiselle Ginevra," he took Ginny by the crooks of her arm as he leaned in to kiss both of her cheeks. "How are you today?"
"Very well, thank you, Claude. Hermione, I'd like to introduce you to Claude Beauprè. He's an old family friend," Ginny added.
"Very pleased to meet you." Hermione smiled warmly. She held her hand out to shake his, but he, in turn, grabbed her by the elbows and greeted her in the same manner that he'd greeted Ginny. Hermione didn't mind; he had the air of a grandfather about him. "If I may ask," Hermione started as Claude released her, "why are we here?"
Claude let out a deep burst of laughter. "Oh, my dear. This is all my land." He swung an arm out, gesturing to the vast expanse of countryside. "Over seven hundred acres of warded land – a wizard's estate. It's been in my family for many generations. I live in that wooded region," he explained, pointing to a distant forest. "The family manor is especially guarded."
"And when he says manor, imagine Buckingham Palace and then some," Ginny quipped.
Claude chuckled congenially. "Perhaps half of Buckingham Palace."
"Well," Ginny said, unflustered, "it's excessively large. Claude's family is nobility in France," she told Hermione.
"Wizards in nobility?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"Well, it's not common in England," Claude began. "English wizarding society is very private, very sheltered and cut off from the rest of the country – save, of course, the effect of recent wars. In several European countries, however, the wizards integrated themselves among Muggles that no one ever suspected. This was the case in France, of course. There have been extremely skilled wizards and witches among the nobles for centuries. Not any of that pureblood nonsense, though. French society has always been so integrated that everyone was a half-blood at best."
"If only we could have been so lucky," Hermione remarked wryly.
"You didn't know anything about that?" Ginny asked.
"I read Hogwarts: A History, not books on the intricacies of foreign wizarding societies. Except Bulgaria," she added as an afterthought.
Ginny groaned. "Oh, spare me the Krum-iness of it all."
"That was a pathetic retort, Gin."
"I know." Ginny glanced at Claude. "You can ignore that; it's just stuff from our time at Hogwarts."
"Would that I could have gone to Hogwarts. Dumbledore was the greatest wizard in Europe." Claude got a misty look in his eye. "Came here frequently, you know. Fairly law-abiding when it came to things like staying hidden from the Muggles. He'd always come here before going to visit Madame Maxim at Beauxbatons. Of course, that's in the south, near Marseilles, but he'd Apparate from here … always had a stiff pot of tea and a few lemon drops," Claude added, smiling. "I miss him."
"We all do," Hermione said quietly.
There was a moment of silent respect
. "Well," Ginny interrupted the silence. "I believe you had a question about why we were here, Hermione?"
"Oh, yes. Apparating from England to anywhere on the Continent is quite difficult. Therefore, there are approved Portkey arrival spots scattered along the coast and the outskirts of larger cities. From these points, wizards or witches arriving from Scotland, England, Ireland, wherever, either Apparate to Paris – any place up until Germany, really, is safe for Apparition – or, for instance, if they're traveling to Russia, they Portkey from here to the outskirts of Moscow."
"Oh, yes," Hermione said, remembering a detailed conversation she'd had with Tonks about the advantages of airplanes over Portkeys. Airplanes. Hands down, Hermione thought.
"Given that Claude has so much land, this is the most popular Portkey arrival destination in France," Ginny said. "He gets paid a pretty penny for it, too!"
Claude shrugged his shoulders. "I have more then enough to live off of without the French Ministry of Magic seeing fit to pay me amounts of money that would cause Merlin to stammer, not to mention the minor dividends from Minister Scrimgeour …"
Hermione burst into a coughing fit. Ginny didn't even have to look at her to know that it was time to go. "It's been wonderful talking to you, Claude, but we really must be getting to Paris!"
"Ahh, going to L'Ruelle de Dèesse, are we?" Claude asked.
"Where else would two fine, upstanding British witches go?" Ginny winked at him suggestively.
Claude guffawed. "You'd best be going. I'd hate to let something slip to your mother."
"I bring her back things from the Dèesse, you know."
"Your father must love those …"
"Well, we really must be going now, Claude! Au revoir!" Ginny screeched, grabbing Hermione's hand to Apparate before she could protest.
--
They arrived in an Apparition room. This, Hermione had expected. However, this room was pink – brilliantly pink. There was lace trim and flourishes more reminiscent of Marie Antoinette then of Princess Di. Not that Ginny would know who Princess Di was …
"Ginny, where are we?" Hermione asked, smoothing her shirt and her capris. Ginny was adjusting her driver's cap.
"There's no easy way to tell you this, Hermione …"
Two women came giggling in through a creamy white door, carrying shockingly pink bags, and quickly Apparated. Hermione drew in her breath sharply. The witches hadn't opened the door more then a crack, but she'd seen something …
"Ginny," she slowly began. "Are there bras in there?"
Ginny looked at her, exasperated. "You lost a bet."
"Is that a lingerie store?"
"Yes."
"Bloody hell, Ginny!" Hermione cried. "Is that the L'Ruelle de Dèesse?"
"Gosh, no. The L'Ruelle de Dèesse is translated as 'The Alley of the Goddess'. It's basically Diagon Alley for sexually active females only."
"So only women are allowed?"
"Husbands and boyfriends come from time to time to buy gifts, but it's predominantly women, yes."
"What kind of shops exactly?"
"I'll show you."
"Dear God."
"You lost a bet, and this is the price. Now, as to that night, to remind you exactly why we are here - if I remember correctly, we were playing Wizard's poker with Tonks, Fleur, Hannah, and the Patils at my flat in London."
"I have no idea how we got them together."
"Neither do I," Ginny said, shaking her head. "And, Hermione, if my memory serves me correctly, that particular round was a version of Muggle strip poker, was it not?"
"Yes." Hermione tapped her foot impatiently. She didn't like where this was going.
"You lost. Actually, Fleur won that round, so I lost too," Ginny added, now gesturing with her hands. "And so Hannah, Parvati, Padma, Tonks, you, and I all stripped down to our underthings. Now, Hannah was wearing blue velvet – typical Hufflepuff safety -, Parvati was wearing black leather – naughty girl, she was going to see Dean later that night, I'm sure of it …"
"Parvati and Dean? I thought she was with Seamus!"
"Padma is with Seamus, and shewas decked out in this naughty little virginal getup, because she was also going to see her boyfriend after …"
"How did I forget that?"
"We were all quite plastered."
"Correction, Gin, you were quite plastered. I'd just had a few drinks …"
"Of course you had."
"And don't remind me what Tonks was wearing, please, don't …"
"Tonks was bare-breasted with the scantiest vibrating thong I've ever seen in my life; damn, I need to find one of those …"
"GINNY!"
"A little louder, Hermione, I don't think Claude heard you."
"A vibrating thong, Ginny? You know how uncomfortable that would be?"
"Yes, if you're an idiot who leaves the 'random' charm activated when you're at work. Otherwise, perfectly pleasurable."
"But Harry …"
"Hermione Granger, even the Boy Who Lived cannot be the Boy Who Brings Multiple Orgasms every night of the week."
"I didn't need to know that about my best friend."
"I'm really not sorry. Back to that night, though. I was wearing a very tiny black pushup bra and black knickers."
"Fairly conservative for you, actually," Hermione remarked casually.
"I know, shocking, isn't it? Anywho, you, my darling Hermione, were in a white cotton set from Marks & Sparks."
"Marks & Spencers is a perfectly respectable – and quite popular – line of lingerie …"
"Yes, but it's Muggle, and more importantly then that, it's boring! It's white and plain and decidedly un-sexy …"
"Ginny, unlike you, I don't have a boy toy to dress up for every night."
Ginny sighed. "I understand that," she said softly. "But don't you ever want to feel a bit dressier then normal – a bit racy – even if it's just for yourself? Knowing that you're wearing this gorgeously sensual scarlet bustier underneath a conservative suit? Wouldn't that just give you the kick you needed to get through the day?"
Hermione contemplated this for a moment, deciding that, of all lingerie she could have picked, Ginny had nailed it right on the head, as it were. A scarlet bustier would certainly be nice to have …
"Fine," she conceded. "We'll go into the naughty lingerie shop, you'll buy a load of new goodies, and I will buy a scarlet bustier – if we find one."
"Done!" Ginny grinned widely, and took her hand, pushing open the creamy door.
Hermione quickly took in her breath. The store was sectioned off into startlingly pink, red, and black sections, all with lacy white trim, and witches were bustling. The sales counter was busy, as were the ladies who were stocking supplies. Hermione looked at Ginny, impressed.
"You like it? Notice that the only white in the store is here." Ginny pointed to the few feet that spread out from the creamy door to the Apparition room. The white carpeting slowly melted into pink, red, and black, depending on which direction it went in.
"Why is there no white?"
"You leave white at the door." Ginny winked. "You'll be fine. See, I'm off to black …"
"How did I know you were going to say that?"
"But I want you to off to the red over there, see," she instructed, pointing to the color that shot straight out across from the Apparition room, "and one of us will meet the other." With that, she took off to the right, to the crowded black section, leaving Hermione standing in the virginal entryway.
"Marks & Sparks, you've treated me well," she said quietly under her breath, and started towards the back wall of red lingerie.
--
Twenty minutes later, Ginny cornered Hermione in the red section. "Found anything?" she asked, smiling.
"A few pairs of knickers and a bra that is specially designed for Potions work."
"Which means?" Ginny gave her a blank look.
"It'll give me fantastic support and, most importantly, will not drench with sweat from the activity and heat of the potions process. It's resistant in every way."
"See, in this instance, wizarding lingerie is decidedly superior to Muggle."
Hermione quirked an eyebrow at Ginny. "This is what I've got though, it's basic."
Ginny perused the items in Hermione's velvet-red drawstring shopping bag. She groaned. "They're red versions of your normal knickers."
"Well, yes!" Hermione exclaimed. "I'm not adventurous, nor am I particularly sexually active …"
"I gave you a great Muggle contraption, Hermione."
"The Rabbit vibrator is quite exceptional."
"But it's not racy lingerie!" Ginny said rather loudly, drawing a few amused glances from the other witches in the shop. "Here's what I have," she said, reaching into her black silk shopping bag.
"What bag do they give the pink girls, by chance?"
"Cotton. Awfully boring, if you ask me. Bras with flowers shooting out from the nipples, it's really rather girly… ah! Here they are," Ginny exclaimed, setting her pending purchases on a table of red sex toys (the feathers were very unrealistic, Hermione thought).
Hermione looked at the three pairs of black underwear. The first was standard kinky Ginny – black leather. She sighed knowingly, eliciting giggles from her friend, and moved on to the next. Black and green lace. "Branching out, are we?" she asked.
"I figure that if the green is below the belt, it won't make me look like a Christmas present."
Hermione nodded, and moved to the third. She heard Ginny whisper a charm, and, all of a sudden, the thong sprung to life on the table, vibrating harshly against the silk tablecloth, causing the table itself to shake.
"Ginny!" she screeched. "Make it stop!"
With another murmur, the commotion was gone.
"What in the bloody hell was that?" Hermione asked, eyes narrowing.
Ginny was looking a little too smug for her own good, Hermione thought. Ginny grinned. "It is the latest in the Illusion Vibrating line. That was the highest power setting. Think of what that could do to a witch!" Ginny exclaimed.
Hermione sighed. "What store are we even in, Ginny? What kind of store sells vibrating knickers!"
Ginny was entirely nonplussed. "The Déesses – 'Goddesses'. Most popular lingerie brand for witches everywhere. One of the most popular lines happens to be the vibrating thong …"
The black thong in question had begun to vibrate loudly on the table again. "Damn!" Ginny exclaimed before silencing it. "I must have put it on random …"
Hermione stared at her pointedly.
"Oh, shut your face." Ginny stuffed her underwear back into the silk bag.
"Excuse me," a blonde witch asked, taking Ginny by the arm. "But what is that and where do I get one?"
Ginny quickly directed the lady, who was holding a pink cotton bag, to the black section.
"Another convert," she said, smiling goofily.
Hermione groaned, running her hand through her hair.
Ginny stuck her tongue out at her, and started to gape at the wall behind Hermione.
"What?" Hermione asked.
Ginny pointed. Hermione turned, and, midway up the wall, saw the sexiest bustier she'd ever seen in her life. It was silk with underwire, shaped like a corset, and had brassy gold buttons that would slowly unbutton and rebutton back up. All said and done, it was fairly modest, but …
"…Worn with black knickers and some black hold-ups and that damned intelligent arrogance of yours, it'd be damned sexy," Ginny was saying.
Hermione stared at the bustier, and cocked her head. It'd been a while since she had sex. She and Ron had fooled around, during their relationship and after their breakup, and they'd had plenty of sex. She wasn't the innocent virgin people thought her to be, but, with all the time spent on research, she'd been starting to feel like one. She hadn't had sex in nearly three years, and considering that the one wizard who could soak her knickers was decidedly not in England …
She shook her head, banishing the thought. "Yes," she affirmed, smiling at Ginny. "Yes, I'll get it."
--
Three hours later, the friends Apparated to Claude's land, with bags from Déesses and other various stores on L'Ruelle (Hermione had picked up plenty of books on witch history and feminist movements within wizarding society). Claude was not there to greet them this time – "He must be talking to another traveler," Ginny said – and the two of them Portkey'd back to England after shrinking their packages.
This time, they arrived at the Burrow.
"I have to see mum," Ginny said, shrugging her shoulders. "I feel bad about missing the meal with Ron and Daphne, even if I did have an excuse."
Hermione sighed. "If you don't mind, Gin, I'm going to head home. To Brighton, I mean."
Ginny laughed as she walked into the house. "Hermione, that is your home!"
Hermione smiled, a warm feeling flooding her, as she Apparated back to the coast.
--
A/N: Thank you for waiting so long for a chapter. Sorry about the abrupt ending – I'm still working out a way to end this chapter gracefully! Many thanks to my reviewers: Katie, jepa, rinny08, enchantedlight, Snufflesgirl86, PheonixFlight, cricketsong, Natsuyori, Goddess Nemesis, Gwenog Jones, and Softballchick dreaowa. You're all wonderful!
Speaking of reviewing …