Authors Notes: Back again! Have fun reading!
'Dirty Work'
Two Luncheons In a Row
This had not happened. Hermione did not just shake hands with an old sworn enemy and fake kindness in front of Gerald Hanks, her department Head. Draco Malfoy and her did not just trade kind words with each other and say how nice it was to see each other in front of him. Gerald did not just go with a hearty laugh and leave the two in an awful, tense silence.
But it did happen.
Hermione was sitting where she was before Draco arrived, with her hands in her lap, and her eyes forwarded to the ground. Draco was standing up, examining her, the smirk somewhat gone from his face. He had been looking at her ever since their eyes made contact. Hermione couldn't bear to talk to him, or even look at him, remembering how cruel he was to Harry, Ron and herself back in school. In her own thoughts, she was thinking that it would be a waste of time uttering a single word to him. That's exactly why she hadn't started any conversation.
"How are you, Granger?" Draco asked, cutting the silence. He said it through gritted teeth.
"Fine." She answered simply. "And yourself?"
"Never better," was his reply. It was silent again. Hermione's arms were now crossed and her eyes narrowed, staring down at the table, where her ink bottle still lay, no longer leaking it's contents.
"So, it looks like we're going to be working together for a while now."
"Indeed it does." She said shortly.
"What do you suggest?" He asked her kindly. Hermione looked up sharply and faced him. He wasn't glaring at her, as she was before, in fact, he wasn't even sending one inch of anger towards her, it seemed.
"What do you mean?" Hermione answered after a while of examining his face.
"I mean, do you suggest we start planning now or would you prefer we did this later?" He said this with only the slightest smirk. Hermione didn't think it was because he was teasing, she thought it was just for the heck of smiling.
"Oh... well, we could just do a few of it now and do the rest of it later."
"That sounds like a plan."
Hermione held in her breath. It seemed he was actually making an effort to being kind, however, she wasn't at all. It may have sounded like it, but she was still very angered by his presence there. The way he could just stride in and be civil towards her, as if he hadn't done a single thing to her and her friends back in school together. The nerve of him.
"I know what you're thinking." Draco said out of no where.
Hermione jumped out of her thoughts. Did he just say that? She quickly recovered and gave him an innocent look. For a moment she thought he would smirk, but the smirk never came.
"I don't know what you mean." She answered, somewhat hesitantly.
"Oh, of course. So you weren't just thinking how dare I barge in here and be kind towards you, knowing what I had done to you back in my youth?" He said this without accusement in his tone. He almost said it lazily, actually. Hermione's mouth slightly parted. Well, he got it right on the dot. Draco seemed to have noticed this expression of hers.
"Wild guess, Granger. I'm no physcic, nor a skilled legilimens."
Hermione found this quite funny and actually smiled. Realizing what she did, she quickly took the smile off from her face and pursed her lips instead. Draco stood there, his hands in his cloak pockets, just watching her in somewhat amusement, as if she were making a fuss of something there was no need to fuss about.
"Granger, you don't need to act like you like me," he went on talking, "and I won't act any different towards you," He turned to look at her, to see if she heard him. "I know you must still be very mad at me, judging by the way I had treated you back in our school days," he sat himself down on a chair, not so far from hers, "but I should let you know, I'm a changed man, and I no longer bully anyone just for my own reasons," he said with a shrug. Hermione watched him, looking for a smile or a wink in his eye that might tell her he was lying, but she found nothing.
"Would you prefer that I act differently?" He questioned on, examining Hermione's face. "But it would be exhausting to be mean to you everytime we work together."
He waited for her to respond, but Hermione wasn't going to reply. She was waiting for him to say something more, to continue convincing her that he was different now. Instead, he just continued to look at her, with perfectly round blue eyes.
"I suppose you're going to say that you've organized a 'Save the Muggles' charity, next?" She said, with little amusement. Draco, however, seemed to find it very funny.
"I may be a changed man, Granger, but I haven't changed that much."
Hermione smiled slightly. Well, that was kind of funny. She hadn't seen how much he had changed yet, but for sure, he would've have been teasing her by now. If he were still the same Draco Malfoy, of course. But still, he did seem different.
"That's a good one, Granger." Draco said, after he finished a little bit of chuckling. Hermione, forgetting what he had just said and thought moments ago, began speaking to him about the Charity Ball.
"Forget it, Malfoy. I suppose we should start now. The sooner the better."
"I agree. Please, if you have any suggestions regarding the ball, do say so."
"I - okay?" She said, surprised at his kindness.
Draco went on. "I haven't got everything covered yet. Things like the caterers, the furnishing, the actual place where it will be held, and everything like that. I know where it will take place, and I know who the caterers will be. Perhaps you could mention that in your first article?" He suggested.
"I suppose I could, Malfoy, but I was thinking that instead of introducing the more finer details, I could just talk about the Ball itself. You know... how this will help the wizarding world, why it's important everyone attends, and all of those things that will give it good publicity. Later, I can get into all of the more specific things." She stated wisely.
Draco raised his eyebrows, impressed at her idea. "Smart plan, Granger."
She smirked. "Thank you. Oh, I will need a date though."
"Oh, of course. A date... let me see." He pulled out a green agenda with small dividers poking out everywhere. He opened it quickly and flipped to a certain page, reading it over. "This won't be long." Draco assured her, scanning pages. Hermione nodded. "Hmm... alright. This ball will need at least a months worth of preperation and a little more time for publicity..." Hermione nodded in agreement.
"How does the twenty-fourth of March sound to you, Granger?" He said, fingering at the date.
"Perfectly fine." She nodded.
"Good. Now what else?"
"The time and everything else can wait, since we're not very close to the Ball anyways."
"Point taken."
"Hmm... would you like to give your Charity Ball a name? Some sort of title?" She questioned.
"A name? I never thought of that. I just thought it would be called the 'Charity Ball.'" He scratched his chin absent-mindedly.
"Well, it's your choice whether to give it one or not." Hermione added, as he began thinking of a name.
"No, no, it's a good idea, Granger. I guess I could call it 'The Goodwill Charity Ball.'"
"I like it. Plain but attractive." Hermione approved.
"Remind you of anyone?" Draco said, smiling and showing his white sparkling teeth.
Hermione made a puking sound. "Four months later and you're still a self-centered prick."
"I'll take that as a compliment, Granger."
"If you say so, Malfoy."
She knew his 'changed man' story wouldn't last long. But their civility was something new to Hermione, and she liked it. It suited Draco, being nice, but very cocky. Hermione smiled inwardly, not forgetting the task at hand. She had scribbled everything down that had been said so far, and within the hour, mostly everything was figured out and planned. The other things, he would be settling with the other people.
"Let's see if I have it all, Malfoy..." Hermione said, her eyes scanning her two pages of parchment. "It will be held at the Justinian Hotel in the ballroom on the twenty fourth of March. The first article introducing the Goodwill Charity Ball will be written and edited in the next 48 hours, and published by no later then next week."
Hermione had skipped most of the things written on the parchment, only mentioning the important things. As she recited, Draco nodded and checked his watch once in a while, reading off of his own parchment, with his own plans for the ball.
"Yes, I believe that's it, Granger."
"Okay. Expect a rough draft from me tomorrow, and the final copy the day after."
"Alright. Good work today, Granger. We'll think of another meeting time another day. Right now, it's time we both left for lunch." He glanced at his watch, and the clock on the wall.
"Oh goodness gracious!" Hermione exclaimed, looking at her own watch. "I've almost forgotten it's my lunch break! I've really got to get going. Until our next meeting, Malfoy." She said, picking up her briefcase and waving Draco goodbye.
Draco chuckled after her, watching her go. It was his lunch break too, and he was in no hurry himself. "Yes, until our next meeting, Granger."
"Sorry, Ron! I didn't know I'd be late!" Hermione said in a breathy voice, as she set her briefcase down on the ground outside of Pearly White's Patio Spot.
Ron chuckled. "Don't worry, I would've been late myself if I hadn't found another medi-wizard to replace me."
Hermione sat herself down on a plastic chair, opposite Ron and sighed. It was a sunny day and it was good time to be eating outside on a patio with her best friend. She began to unbutton her jacket and order her food, as the waitress came.
"Afternoon, Miss Granger." Greeted the lady waitress, carrying a notepad. "What'll it be today?"
"The usual, Joyce." Hermione said, smiling at the lady.
"The apple walnut tuna salad with finely chopped celery, chopped toasted walnuts and Dijon mustard, and a barbecue chicken chedar sandwich with grated parmesan cheese?" She asked, making sure.
"Of course, Joyce." She smiled.
"And you, Mister Weasley?"
"Just the barbecue chicken chedar sandwiche, thanks."
"On it's way." She stated, scurrying off inside to give the order to the chefs.
Ron leaned back in his chair, sighing in relaxation. He smiled at Hermione and gave her an expectant look. "Aren't you going to tell me about your day, Hermione?" He asked her.
"Oh, yes. Sorry, Ron." She said, for her mind was still on the paper she had to write for Draco. "I have another news topic to write about for the Prophet." She said with half a smile on her face.
"Really? And what's this one about?" He inquired.
"This one is really good. It's a Charity Ball for the war victims." Hermione explained.
"Really?" Ron said.
"Yeah, and if you make a donation, then admission is free, if you make a sizeable amount then drinks and food are free but if you make a very large amount then the whole night is free and your eligible for the grand prize!" Hermione said.
"That sounds exciting. You'll have a great time writing this report." Said Ron. "So who're you going to be working with?"
Hermione bit her lip. "Well, see, that's why this report may not be so fun..." Hermione said, trailing off. "I'll be working with Malfoy." She stated simply.
Ron didn't look to impressed, but he didn't look happy either. "Malfoy? The Malfoy? Organizing a Charity Ball?" He said with surprise.
"I know. A bit unbelievable. He's changed a little though."
"A little? And how can you be sure of that?" Ron said, giving her a testy look.
"Oh, don't worry, Ron. I won't be working with him anymore after this anyways. I won't even be involved with him in any way, shape or form. It's no big deal. Just look at the good side of this, Ron. If I do a good job on this report, then Hanks might even let me write my own stuff for once."
Ron growled lightly. "Don't be so sure about him, Hermione. Just tell me if he gives you a hard time."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, I will. And you know you don't have to be so over-protective all the time. I can take care of myself." She declared.
"It's nothing Harry wouldn't do," Ron said with a grin.
This made Hermione grin too. The thought of Harry. "Oh, alright." She said, giving up. "But, since we're on the topic of Harry..." Hermione began.
Ron rolled his eyes, knowing where this was going to lead. "Give it up, Hermione. I miss him too, alright? But there's nothing we can do about it."
"I know, but that's not what I meant!" Hermione said, tapping the table a little with her hand. She almost upended a glass of water that was on the table for Ron. "I was just thinking... there was no body, Ron! No sign of a body!"
"So? For all we know the death eaters who are still out there somewhere took it and burnt it or something. They could've done anything with it!" He exclaimed in slight exasperation.
"I'm not saying they could've stolen his body, even though that's could be true, Ron, but what I meant to say was... what if he's not dead?" Hermione questioned. Ron rolled his eyes again. Obviously, this hadn't been the first time she suggested it.
"Don't start on it again, Hermione, please - "
"Ron, you know this is completely possible - "
"No, Hermione, it's not. If Harry were still alive, and you know how much I want to believe that he is, don't you think that he would've shown up by now?" He stated wisely.
"Yes, but..." Hermione said, completely blank. "I just feel him sometimes, you know, Ron?"
Ron shook his head sadly. He had seen Hermione wonder and linger on his death for a while now, and it was doing her no good. "Let it go, Hermione. You have to." He said to her softly. Hermione looked down and sighed. The waitress had come with their food and set it on the table.
"Your orders," she announced. "Would you like a drink, Miss Granger?" Questioned Joyce.
Hermione shook her head. "And you, Mister Weasley? A re-fill for that water of yours?"
"No, it's okay, Joyce. Thanks." Ron said kindly.
"Alright mates. Call if you need anything." She said.
"Hermione?" Ron said softly, after the waitress had gone. Her face was still down, staring un-interestedly at the ground. Just hearing him say deny the fact that Harry wasn't alive was enough to ruin her day. But she wouldn't let it. She would stick to her gut feeling, no matter how many people told her different.
"I'm fine, Ronald," she said, bringing her face up and picking up her fork. She put on a smile.
"So tell me about your day at work. Was it good?" She said, quickly changing the subject.
"Hermione, it's okay to feel - "
"Any new crazy patients?" She suggested with a little laugh. Ron seemed disappointed.
"Actually," he said, going along with the new topic, "I've got a man down on the fifth floor that claims he's got a bunch of bites because of a necklace. Says it was charmed by a vampire and that he's beginning to feel thirsty. Poor guy. We don't think he'll actually be a vampire, since he didn't really get bitten by one, but the situation is weird." He said while shaking his head.
Hermione nodded. "That is odd."
Ron, during their last year in schooling, surprisingly decided he was interested in taking on the medical field of business. He was much more interested in healing and recovering people than in playing quidditch or finding bad guys like aurors do. He'd been a striving medi-wizard since they've graduated. It was a shock to everyone that he was in fact, very good at what he did.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Ron agreed. "And down on the third floor we've got some maniac screaming everyday because he says his hair is talking to him. Every little strand is saying something and that he's going insane listening to it. We think it's that bogus shampoo Mundungus is selling to everyone. We've got people looking into it."
"Mundungus and his crazy gadgets," Hermione said humourously. "How are things back at the flat with Parvati?" She said, with a slight wink in her eye.
Ron blushed at this. "Oh. Things are - well - great, Hermione."
"And...?" She said expectantly.
"And what?" Ron said, beating around the bush.
"Oh come on!" Hermione exclaimed. "You two are living together for goodness sake! And what's more, you've been dating for two years. Don't you think it's time?"
"Time? I don't know what you're talking about - "
"Sure you don't, Ron." Hermione said, smiling and winking at the same time while taking a big bite out of her sandwich. "Sure you don't." She repeated.
Ron continued to blush as he ate his sandwich. Hermione knew that Ron knew what she was talking about. It was about time he popped the big question, and she knew that Parvati was just waiting for it. Hopefully, he didn't make her wait to long.
"I'm going to do it soon, Hermione. Soon. Just don't tell her, okay?" Ron came out, poking at his food a little. Hermione smiled, and patted his hand on the table. He seemed very shy whenever it came to talking about Parvati.
"Of course, I won't, Ron. I would ruin the surprise." Ron smiled sheepishly back at her and took a hearty bite out of his sandwich. Hermione giggled. It was so cute the way he could just turn his mood upside down in minutes.
Suddenly, a beeping noise went off.
"Oh, bloody hell - " Ron said, coughing and almost choking on the bite he took out of his sandwich. It was his pager, ringing off the hook. He took it out of his pocket and read what it said. "Damn," he said, looking at Hermione apologetically, "it's Mungo's."
"They need you again?" Hermione said, sounding fine, but really a bit disappointed.
"Yeah, they say it's important. Probably another crazy patient." He smiled at her. "We'll finish this next time, Hermione. I'll pay, okay?" Hermione nodded and smiled. As he dropped a tip at the counter and waved her goodbye, she felt a little sad. It seemed she needed more spending time with her best friend, especially since she just lost the other.
"I suppose the hospital needs you more than I do..." Hermione said sadly to herself, as she began picking at her salad. She decided she wasn't going to leave yet. What was the point of wasting good food?
She looked around the patio spot, eating silently by herself. Many people were out and laughing as they ate with their friends. As Hermione turned around to get a good look at everyone else, she saw a familiar cloak, she thought she might have seen earlier that day.
"Malfoy?" She said, without knowing she did. The cloak just looked so familiar.
The figure she had called Malfoy turned around to face her. He had fine features and silver hair. Oh, what do you know? It was Malfoy.
"...Granger?" He said, as if he wasn't really seeing her there. "Is that you?"
"Oh. Uh, yes. Sorry, I just thought - nevermind. You can go back to your business now if you like. Uh, sorry for disturbing you." She said quite shyly. This was basically her boss anyways, and she didn't want to emberass herself in front of him.
Draco smirked at her. "Disturb me, Granger? You've done no such thing." He walked up to her and glanced down at her table. "I was just about to ask for a table. Are you here with someone?" He asked, glimpsing the other half of the table with food on it, except no person sitting on the chair.
"Oh, no, no," Hermione said, quickly calling a waitress to get Ron's food off the table, "Ron was here, but he got called back to the hospital..." She stood up, "and I was actually about to leave, so, if you want this table - "
"You were about to leave? Granger, I insist you stay. I didn't mean to impose - "
"No, really, it's fine. I'll just get the rest of my food here and take it back to work with me."
"Granger, you have 20 minutes of lunch break still. Sit." He ordered. Obediently, Hermione sat. "Would you mind if I joined you?" He questioned. Hermione shook her head. "You shouldn't go to work unless you have to, you know, Granger. Work is bad enough that you have to go to it everyday." He smirked.
"I suppose," Hermione muttered. She really didn't want to be having lunch with him, especially with her mood.
Draco called a waitress and ordered his food. A different one came, carrying a notepad just like the other. "So you said that Weasley was here with you, Granger?" Draco said, making conversation till his food came. Hermione picked at her salad.
"Yes... he got called back to Mungo's though. He had to leave early."
"Shame," Draco said, "I haven't spoken to him in ages." Hermione raised her eyebrows. Draco didn't seem to notice. "I knew he worked at St. Mungo's. From what I hear he's quite good at what he does. Good news, but surprising none the less." Hermione heard him say. She wasn't really interested in conversation at the moment.
"I also hear that he's going out with Parvati Patil. Correct?" He asked, looking at Hermione.
"Yes. For two years. And they live together." Hermione stated.
"Interesting, interesting." Draco managed to say. "And you?" He asked, staring at Hermione.
Hermione glanced upwards to face him. "What about me?" She asked.
Draco chuckled. "I mean, are you involved, Granger." The waitress came with his food. She placed it down in front of him, and he picked up his fork, beginning to eat.
Hermione was surprised at the question. "Why?" She asked.
"Well, not that it's any of my business, Granger, but I happen to know that you and Potter were quite the couple before... well, you know. And now that he's... well, I was just curious anyways. I'm not interested," he stated, after Hermione raised her eyebrows.
"Well, you're right about it not being any of your busienss, but for the record, no, I am not involved, Malfoy." Draco nodded.
"You miss him, don't you?" Draco said, as he kept on eating. Hermione eyed him suspiciously.
"Yes. Of course I do." She said quite strongly.
"To lose someone you love... sad, isn't it?" He said. Hermione narrowed her eyes more.
"What does it matter, Malfoy?" She demanded. Draco looked up innocently from his food as if he had asked her nothing personal. He shrugged and looked away from her.
"You know I lost my Father during the war, don't you, Granger? I just thought we may have shared something in common, that's all." He shrugged again, and Hermione looked at him oddly. She didn't know his father had died.
"Your father died, Malfoy?" She asked questioningly.
"Died?" Draco said, with a sad smirk on his face. "Oh no, he didn't die. He went away. Went on the run. I wasn't surprised..." he trailed off. "But anyways, I basically lost him. I wouldn't be shocked at all if someone finds his body shacked up somewhere."
"Oh," Hermione said, feeling non-to comfortable talking about this with Draco Malfoy. "Sorry," she muttered, as she ate some of her salad.
Draco laughed sadly and his forehead cringed. "The war has had a great impact on each of our lives hasn't it?" He said most of this to himself then Hermione. She looked at him, to see if he was looking sad. To her surprise, he wasn't, just bitter. "I'm very glad I took no part in it," he sighed.
Hermione's eyebrows raised. "Really? You weren't a part of it?" She asked.
This time Draco really smiled. "No, I wasn't part of it. Why, Granger? Did you think I was on Voldemort's side?" Hermione shuffled in her seat, feeling a bit guilty that she really had been thinking that. She gave him a weak, hopefully amused smile. "It's alright, Granger. Many people thought I had..." And he trailed off, picking up his food.
The two ate in silence, looking up occasionally to see if the other was done. It was a bit uncomfortable for both of them, but Hermione thought that at least there was no tension. She would prefer the uncomfortableness than the tension. And believe it or not, there was a difference.
"Hey, Malfoy," she said, after finishing off most of her salad. "Can I ask you something?" Draco looked at her hesitantly. "It's only fair, since you asked me some things." She said testily. Draco thought about it, and nodded.
"Why are you doing this whole Charity Ball thing? Surely you don't plan on stealing the money or becoming famous after this gets it's large publicity?" Draco snorted and almost choked on his food. He punched his chest, to stop from choking.
"Stealing the money? Getting famous? Those are some crazy thoughts, Granger. I have plenty of money and I'm already famous, with or without my Father." He smirked a little at that. "But I suppose I want to do it because... it's the right thing to do. It's like a penance, for doing all those other bad things, I guess." He shrugged and continued to eat.
Draco Malfoy, do a penance? Weird.
"I understand," Hermione said, nodding a little. She was completely done her food now and her break was almost over. She stood up slowly, and brushed the crumbs off her clothing. Draco stopped eating and looked up at her, as she picked up her briefcase.
"I suppose I should get going now. My break's almost over. Would you like me to pay for you, Malfoy?" She said, reaching for her pocket. Draco held up a hand to stop her, and shook his head.
"No, it's alright. I've already payed for mine at the counter, Granger."
Hermione nodded and smiled at him. "I'm sure your father would be very glad to hear that you're doing this." She picked up her cloak and put it on, buttoning it up.
Draco snorted and smirked. "I doubt it."
Hermione waved goodbye to him when she was halfway to the gate that lead out. He smirked at her and continued to eat his food while waving goodbye to her also. Hermione could have sworn she felt a little pity for Draco, realizing that he too lost someone in the war, when all this time she'd been acting like she was the only one.
A bit odd, seeing as an old foe made her realize that.
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TBC.
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A/N: Tada! Poof! Voila! Mwahaha! Okay. That's all I'm gonna say. Hopefully not a pointless chapter. OKAY. REVIEW? OKAY. BYE xD.
Yours truly,
Sevengee/Lina