"My assistant will be in touch with next steps, Mr. Wimbledy," Pansy shook the man's hand and watched him leave her office with a self-satisfied smirk.
Prick.
The man was a washed out second son of one of the pureblood families up-north and wanted to invest into her business in return for a seat on her board and shares. No chance, he made her skin crawl and very much reminded her of the kind of people she used to deal with way back after the war.
Sadly as she found out following a visit to Gringotts after her trial, the family accounts were severely depleted from their previously bountiful state, due to her father's incompetence and bad investment choices. So she sold the family manor and several other estates and instead made new investments and bought a flat in London that would be plenty for her while she finished her studies. Pansy oftentimes found that she was considered dumb and merely brought up to be a perfect pureblood housewife, and it was true to some point. If the war didn't happen and her eyes weren't open to the realities of pure blood prejudice, she very likely would have ended up on Draco's arm, forever stuck in a loveless and unhappy marriage as a decoration to her husband. At the age of eighteen, she was instead an orphan of the war, much more resourceful than ever before, and allowed the tendril of ambition to bloom with her chest into a force, for the first time ever wanting to forge her own path, discover what she was really capable of achieving. So she transferred to Beauxbatons Academy, to get away from the stifling British society with too many ghosts and too many antiquated 'heroes' like Wimbledy.
As it turned out, the beautiful French chateau was the place where she found out more about herself than ever before.
She always had the ability to read a room, talk to anyone no matter their station, and see potential for advancement or profit - it only made sense for her to choose the business module as her elective. And so in the classroom atop the North tower, she learnt that she could be a successful business woman if she found a niche in the market that suited her creativity. Her mother was probably rolling in her grave at the mere notion.
If that wasn't enough of a discovery, she learnt that the vicious streak she displayed as a child was still inside her when she found out that one of her classmates was sabotaging her dormitory in order to drive her out of the school for being associated with Death Eaters. Taking inspiration from someone she never would have considered before, her classmate had to be withdrawn from class permanently after her forehead flared up in painful hives every time she though negatively about Pansy. She thought fondly of Granger's impressive spell-work that inspired her that day. Pansy was unapologetic and she decided to own it.
The biggest revelation however awaited her one afternoon following herbology and medicinal potions, in the company of one Valerie Renechaux. A pretty blonde, who up until that point was mostly shy, decided to speak to her after class and invite her for a hot chocolate on the next trip to the magical village not far from the château. At first Pansy thought it was a friendly invitation, as Valerie clearly had very few, if any friends. She soon discovered that not only was it very much a date, but that the thought of returning the blonde's affections was not unwelcome. It was behind that greenhouse during their lunch break that she was first kissed by another woman and enjoyed it more than any kiss she previously shared with anyone else. Her mother was most likely rolling so fast in her grave, she could pass for a muggle fan at this point.…
Yes, Valerie had been a revelation. They stayed together for a few months, meeting after classes to study and make out, eventually exploring their pleasures together and discovering what they each enjoyed. Graduation however meant that Valerie had to return to Switzerland and to Pansy's surprise, to her intended fiancé. So much for escaping the prescriptions of her previous life…
While it was her first real experience with heartbreak, her relationship with Valerie taught Pansy that she preferred and desired the connection and pleasure that she could share with another woman. It wasn't unheard of, far from it, their world was quite inclusive in many ways, at least it was so for most people. For a pureblood heiress who was the last living member of a long-standing upper class family? Not so much. Men like Wimbledy always speculated whether they could be the man to finally 'turn her' to her sense and back to her rightful place, on the arm of a man.
For nearly two decades now, she was shunned by a part of her old circles, and demonised in the newspapers for being a dangerous example to young ladies in higher society. Utter tosh of course but that didn't stop the gossip, nor advances of Wimbledy and his ilk. They could try, and they will fail time and time again. At least she could enjoy watching the realisation on their faces that there was no place for them in her life, professional or private.
She pressed the button on the small dashboard to her left. "What does the rest of the day look like, Constance?" she asked, knowing her assistant was back at her desk by now.
She waited a moment before Constance could be heard over the intercom. "You have half an hour in your schedule pencilled in for staff review, followed by an eleven o'clock meeting with Mr Kimble from marketing, and then twelve o'clock with Potion Mistress Hermione Granger. The rest of your afternoon is pencilled in for development with Miss Fawley until your dinner arrangement with Lady Malfoy. Would you like me to make any changes to your itinerary?" she asked.
Pansy thought about it for a moment. "I will be taking the meeting with Kimble on the lower level as he has to show me some of the specifics at his department. When Mistress Granger shows up, please guide her to the private room at the restaurant below and make sure she orders whatever she likes. I will be joining her there directly after my meeting. Also, do send a memo to Kyra that I will be joining her in the lab by two."
"Right away," Constance made the note hastily, already drafting the memo in her mind.
"Also, I'll need the latest report from the sales team and the research team as well to review the staff folders as planned this morning. Please send those in. Thank you, Constance," she switched the intercom off and sat back, looking at the closed folder to her left that held information on her upcoming meeting. Perhaps throwing the Gryffindor princess a curve ball will make lunch more interesting, she mused.
The headquarters of Pensée was a cleverly designed building at the heart of Mayfair where business met luxury shopping. The ground floor of their building was split between a boutique with their products and a small wizarding restaurant where staff could eat with a discount and sales department could entertain any company. Pansy liked to hold some of her business meetings there too, as the cooking was good and they always held the small private room for her unless instructed otherwise. The back door of the building was a staff entrance, all development and production staff heading for the three underground floors, and all the admin, marketing and sales staff heading up to the first floor. Pansy had her own lift on the side of the building to the top floor which housed Constance's desk as reception, Pansy's office and an entertaining suite for small business showcase events and soirees with investors.
She dropped off the marketing report on her desk and wondered whether to take the file she had on the witch with her, but decided against it, merely taking her purse and phone just in case of emergency. Once down, the Maitre d' spotted her near immediately and opened the door for her with a smile. "Good morning, Lady Parkinson. Your guest is already seated in the private room, shall I take you through?" she asked.
"Please, if you would, Miss Morris," she replied politely and followed the woman along the left hand side wall to a private room separated from the rest with a thick curtain fused with privacy charms. It could be made see-through from the inside, but the conversations held within would always remain private. Pansy designed it herself with the help of Kyra's brother who was a curse breaker.
Miss Morris held the curtain open for her and Pansy stepped through, her dark gaze landing on the seated guest across from her. "Thank you, Miss Morris, that will be all for the moment. I will ring for the waitress when we're ready to order," she thanked the woman who bowed slightly before leaving them to it.
Taking a bold step forward, Pansy extended her hand to the witch across from her who stood to greet her. "I think it's been too long since our paths last crossed, so perhaps introductions are in order. Lady Pansy Parkinson, CEO of Pensée Cosmetics," she offered neutrally, using her official title for the first meeting.
"Potion Mistress Hermione Granger," Hermione responded as she took the offered hand and shook it firmly but with moderation, knowing her grip was stronger than she sometimes knew herself these days.
Pansy motioned for her to take her seat again and poured herself some water as she sat across from her companion. "Did you have a look at the menu? The head chef is Italian but French-taught and his pasta is practically art," she recommended, watching as the brunette picked up the menu with a nod to re-read her options.
It allowed Pansy a moment to herself to observe the woman her ex-classmate and one third of the former Golden Trio became. Her hair was just as wild and large but the curls were tighter and much less frizzy, the colour of honey with a curious nearly white streak at her temple. She wondered whether that was caused by spell damage. Granger was still on the shorter side but her simple grey dress revealed well-formed biceps and toned physique not unlike her own, honed by years of swimming, running and yoga. Unlike herself though, Granger seemed to be much more curvaceous than the last time they saw each other, and her magical aura hummed slightly, more mature than her erratic magic during Hogwarts. Pansy could almost feel her power and felt herself naturally drawn to it but resisted leaning closer in her seat. The hands holding the menu were the hands of a potions mistress, nails cut short and clean but no lacquer and a few potion stains here and there from some of the more potent ingredients. They reminded her of Kyra's hands after a week spent locked up in the developmental lab, trying to nail down the perfect formula.
"I think I know what I'd like," Granger closed her menu and looked straight back at her, aware she was being covertly observed.
Pansy nodded and pressed a small button on a dashboard at the table edge and the waitress was with them in moments, taking their orders and disappearing again.
"Kyra tells me you've been friends and colleagues for a few years now, how did you meet?" she asked, keeping the topic light and throwing the brunette off.
Hermione tried not to show her surprise at the conversation starter but then again her memories of Pansy Parkinson were few and what she most could remember her was her straight-forward nature and nasty streak. At least one of those clearly remained unchanged. "At the annual conference of Potion Masters about three years ago. It was held in Cardiff that time, if I remember correctly. We ended up seated at the same table through dinner and got on well. We kept in touch afterwards, still do," she clarified before deciding to ask a question of her own, as this didn't appear to be a standard interview anyway. "She said she started working for you as an accident as well?"
Pansy paused in her response when the waitress came it to pour their wine before focusing on the brunette once more. "We met at a fortunate time for my company. I was in need of a potion mistress and she was leaving her CV at the apothecary just in case someone was in need of her skills. I overheard her and we started talking about my concept. I liked her and decided to give her a chance, she seemed excited by having a chance to head up development of w hole skin care line. Every product this company produces is formulated by the two of us," she explained, feeling it led well to the reason why they were meeting. "I presume Kyra mentioned why we are seeking a potioneer of your particular expertise?"
"Vaguely," Hermione reached for the cloth serviette and folded it over her crossed lap. "She mentioned wanting to focus on a healing set of cosmetics and we discussed some of my previous work, which prompted her to mention your name," she answered honestly.
"I see," Pansy nodded, now having a clearer idea of Granger's expectations.
The waitress was back and started laying out their dishes and sides, giving Hermione the chance to observe the woman across from her in turn. Her memories of Parkinson were hazy, they only had a few nasty encounters, mostly because she was on Malfoy's arm when he decided to aggravate Harry and Ron. She appeared in the Prophet a few times a year, one scandal or another, but Hermione paid little mind to it, so she rarely caught sight of her ex-classmate since Hogwarts. Time has been kind to Pansy Parkinson, she looked confident and mature, her presence commanding attention and dark gaze intriguing while revealing little. Her tight black dress showed a trim figure, her movements naturally elegant. If her hair and eye colouring wasn't quite so dark, she would have presumed Parkinson to have some Veela heritage, but she was certain that was not the case. She sniffed the air slightly as if taking in the aroma of the food and while it did smell delicious, there was another enticing scent that held her attention. Under the light spray of what she recognised vaguely as one of the Chanel perfumes, she could smell the potent magical energy and rich blood of her companion. Hermione realised over the years that the very essence of the castor will influence the magic they produce. Parkinson's magic was dark like treacle but with underlying sweetness, perhaps a reflection of the woman's nature.
"You were right, the pasta smells delicious," she complimented as the waitress left, and took a small bite of her delicious ravioli.
Pansy inclined her head at the compliment. "I'm glad it's to your taste. Now, before we go any further, I will need clarification on two points in your recent employment history. You took a two year sabbatical after quitting at your last post as the Head of Department for Regulations and Control of Magical Creatures after many successful years. Any particular reason?" she asked curiously.
Hermione continued to chew her mouthful, allowing Pansy to study her face. Of course, Parkinson must be curious about her scars. "I felt that I've achieved what I set out to do and wanted to grant opportunity to those in my team who sought advancement. My two years abroad were spent traveling and visiting several different private potion practices and various colleagues of mine, to explore my personal brewing projects and seek advice on my recent formulas such as the improved wolfsbane potion," she explained matter-of-factly. Everyone was curious about her scars, but she never spoke about them to anyone, let them speculate.
Ah yes, wolfsbane. Pansy nodded as she listened to the brunette and her gaze trailed the three long silvery slashes that started under her left eye by the nose and dragged down her cheek and just past her chin to the middle of her throat. Everyone presumed it was a werewolf scrape, Granger never addressed those rumours. Perhaps she was some sort of hybrid like William Weasley? Pansy was only growing more curious.
"And what prompted you to accept an offer from the Department of Mysteries upon your return? It's an unusual switch," she observed, wondering how much the brunette could talk about it.
Hermione smiled into her glass of wine. "I am bound by confidentiality but it is a one-off contract for a specific project that is ending this month, and I will not be renewing my contract with the department due to political differences," she summarised.
That phrasing caught Pansy's attention. "Political differences? How so?" Pansy asked curiously.
Hermione looked amused. "Let's just say it may be two decades since the war but the DOM is the one place at the Ministry least touched by change and progress," she explained, putting her point across without really answering.
Brava, Pansy took a sip of her wine as well and asked the question she was quite curious about. "If I were to offer you a position in my company, would you feel that we may have political differences that could create any issues?"
She knew the question was loaded with their personal history but it was a long time ago. She could see the stubborn line on Granger's brow, and knew she would probably forever remain a Gryffindor at heart. But more than that, they were both very different people to who they used to be and she could see that. Would Granger agree?
Hermione took a moment to answer. The cool and collected Slytherin queen still sat before her, but she seemed to have thawed around the edges a little, and the sparkle of intelligence and humour were something new to witness. And considering the mission and vision of the company Parkinson started from the ground up, she could tell that the woman no longer held her previous values around blood purity and superiority. Perhaps they could give it a try and see how they got along.
"I would like to think that 20 years is a long enough time to find some common ground. I would be willing to try if you are," she suggested, throwing the ball back in Pansy's court as she folded her cutlery to signal she was done with her lunch.
Pansy hid her smile in the wine before nodding. "I think that's reasonable. Are you happy to discuss a 3 month trial period contract to ensure confidentiality and your interest in the project?"
Hermione nodded, having expected this as standard procedure. "I could begin from the 1st of the next month, after familiarising myself with your vision for the new line of products," she suggested.
"Very well, let's head up to my office, my assistant Constance will be able to prepare all the briefing and HR documentation as we speak," she stood and left a few banknotes on the table to cover them both before motioning Granger ahead of her.
Their first encounter after nearly two decades ended up in a definite draw, but for some reason Pansy had the feeling the game was just starting.