"Good boy, Byron," she patted his side as they came up to her flat after their morning run, both of them panting with exertion.
She quickly wiped him down and made sure his paws were dry before taking him off the lead and watching him pad over to his cushion by the fireplace. The weather turned on them halfway up the road and they were both soaked before managing to get back. March storms always made life a more difficult to get around but at least with the aid of magic, her travel plans this morning won't be endangered.
Once showered, she plaited her hair out of the way, loose curls framing her heart-shaped face as she wiggled into her black jeans and a strappy top. Once back in the kitchen she made herself some tea and reviewed the notes in her overflowing Filofax. She really needed to get a new one but most of her research notes were in there, so she kept it around for as long as she could, adding extra pages and hoping the binding could take it. They finally had a list of the skin conditions they wanted to tackle, and were starting on the research to choose the best ingredients. With eczema and psoriasis, the ingredients looked to be fairly straight forward for most of the line, so did the ingredients they will be testing for rosacea. But the magically induced scars were proving to be tricky. Her own research led her onto trials of things such as Bio Oil, cocoa butter, panthenol, vitamin E rich ingredients, and yet the results were always minimal if the scars were older than 6 months due to the magical properties of the injury. Alone, these ingredients just stood no chance. But maybe if combined with magical ingredients? Perhaps it was time to do something that was still rarely utilised in the magical world - growing new ingredients by cross-breeding plants.
They haven't yet discussed it in the lab, but she wanted to be at least informed when they had their initial discussion around the possibility of developing new herbs with tailored magical properties that could be used for the line. As it was nearly eight, she quickly packed up her bag, slipped on her boots and thick jumper and dashed out after kissing Byron's snout goodbye.
"Be a good boy, no chewing mama's bra again. I mean it," she pointed to him as she locked up, the pup whined at her tone, looking rather cute if guilty.
She made sure the flat was secure before heading down the street to get a boost from the national apparition spot to get to Scotland. The heavy rainclouds hung above her head as she spun on the spot and landed by the Hogwarts gate, instantly raising her wand to cast an umbrella spell that would keep her dry from the downpour that had already began. The gate soon opened and she was greeted by Neville's smiling face, half covered by the hood of his raincoat.
"Good to see you Hermione!" He raised his voice over the loud rain as they hurried up to the greenhouses that were nearer than the castle itself. As it was an early Saturday morning, the grounds were completely deserted, the only movements catching her eye coming from one of the greenhouses where Neville was leading her.
After quickly unlocking the door, they stepped in and shook off the rain, casting drying spells until they were once again all dry. "I forgot how much fun Scottish weather could be," Hermione chuckled and accepted a hug from Neville, kissing his cheek before she pulled away and hung up her bag on the coat rack as well.
"We may not like it, but the mandrakes love the storms, it makes them sleepy and they grow faster. If you listen carefully, you can hear some of them snoring through the bottom of their pot," he offered, pulling out a chair for her at the small corner table where he kept a pot of tea while he worked in the greenhouse on the weekends.
They haven't seen each other for a few months now due to her travels and his busy period with the new school year and winter flu that demanded him growing a lot for the hospital wing and Mungos alike. She was happy to see that he looked so happy and settled in his thirties. His quiet introverted confidence remained one his most endearing qualities, as was his love for the plants that he grew and his simple life in the Highlands. They made a lovely couple with Kyra, her endless energy and drive to learn balancing well with the more quiet nature of her ex-classmate.
"Thank you for seeing me, I know it starts to get busy for you around this time. Kyra gave me a stern talking to, said we definitely need to do a dinner date," she chuckled fondly.
Neville pushed his sleeves back and poured her a steaming cup of tea. "We should. My mango tree in the tropical greenhouse has been very generous this year. We can have some for dessert," he offered.
"I would like that. Show me around?" she asked, looking at the wonderful plants around her. She knew she was in greenhouse seven, the new experimental greenhouse Neville instated for his cross-breeding and more dangerous plants. And she couldn't wait to go an adventure getting to know the resident plants.
It took them two hours to walk around the greenhouse, as Hermione asked endless questions and Neville was a fountain of knowledge on the plants that he was studying and cross-breeding. It was incredible to hear his theories why he cut into one of the branches of a Japanese yuzu tree, in itself a hybrid of two citrus fruits, and added a branch from their native english pear, which if grown in magical soil had the added properties that could replace camomile extract in sleeping draughts when the drinker had an allergy or intolerance to the flower. The combination of these very different plants was a beautiful thick-skinned pear shaped fruit that when cut into had a delightful yellow interior and citrus-like markings but tasted like a sour pear. She was utterly fascinated.
"I could talk your ear off for another two hours if you're not careful," he warned her with a smile as they topped up their tea and sat back down.
"If you're not careful I'll be here for demonstrations on a weekly basis," she countered and sighed happily as the hot tea warmed her up a bit.
"How about that dinner then? We can all get together, I'm sure Kyra will have some excellent ideas as well. She's helped me with several of these breeds," he pointed to the trees in the nearby corner.
Hermione nodded. "I would like that. When would be best for you?" she asked.
"This Friday night? I don't have any patrols and we can have a proper dinner evening without repercussions for the following day," he suggested, his plum wine always a hit at dinner parties though its potency rarely left the participants without consequences.
Hermione was clearly thinking along the same vein. "I'll gladly brave the headache if I can get my hands of some of that wine of yours. Friday it is, I'll join you around seven? I can bring some clotted cream ice cream to go with the fresh mango for dessert," she suggested.
"Deal," he smiled and they said their goodbyes before Hermione stepped back out into the storm and headed back to drizzly London and into the lab to her research board.
"For the last time, I don't need you to hook me up. Who could you possibly introduce me to that isn't either scandalised or doesn't have family that would disown her on the spot if they knew she was seeing me?" Pansy said pointedly, though she suspected her words would once again fall on deaf ears. "Really, I am quite happy as I am, there's no need to fuss and most certainly no need for blind dates, Ria," she added in a final tone, hoping it would end the conversation.
Astoria Greengrass was someone she knew of when younger but because of the slight age difference, Pansy was much more aware of her older sister Daphne who used to be in her year. Now Lady Astoria Malfoy, the fearsome blonde was about the only person she could call a best friend. Despite the rumours and the scandals, she stuck with Pansy and made Draco promise that he would not judge his once friend and betrothed along with the rest of the society. She still got on well with the Malfoy heir, but even Draco didn't show her the loyalty Astoria did.
"Are you though, really? You're nearly forty, Pans, and I know you enjoy the travel and the clubbing and having the pleasure without the baggage, but is it really what's best for you? You're so successful, you can afford to spend some more time on yourself and maybe sharing your success with someone other than your daytime drinking buddy," she pointed at their martinis.
Pansy raised a brow. "I didn't think you'd still have an issue with a few drinks, you stopped breast feeding last month," she pointed out.
"Don't even get me started, I swear I'll need cosmetic magic soon," she looked down her blouse discretely at her once firm cleavage.
Pansy rolled here eyes. "You're just as beautiful as ever. Draco hasn't even looked at another witch in all these years, he's absolutely stupid for you. And not only did you give him an heir, little Selena has him wrapped around her tiny finger. Honestly, you could say you have it all," she reminded her.
"I know," Astoria sighed and leaned back in the comfortable chaise elegantly. "I just wish you could say the same for yourself," she pointed out. "And I wish you would stop that as well."
Pansy lit a cigarillo, the tendrils of smoke curling around her as she frowned at her friend. "You know I don't smoke often, let me enjoy my vices. Besides, I know it's possible with magic and muggle technology alike, I just don't know if I would want to have kids and the responsibility that comes with them. I'm too set in my ways, and I like my life as it is. If I meet someone, then so be it, but I'm not going to spend my time chasing after 'true love'," she added contemplatively.
"Well I hear you've meet someone quite exciting," Astoria grinned cheekily, enjoying a good bit of gossip to take her mind off all her duties back at the Manor.
Pansy decided to feign ignorance for the moment. Surely it wasn't already known that she hired Granger? It hasn't yet reached the Prophet and she didn't spot any paparazzi this morning on the way to the office. "I'm not sure what you mean," she exhaled the menthol smoke and looked at the blond expectantly.
"Oh what do you take me for? She was seen with you, exiting the private room in the restaurant at your headquarters. A friend of mine happened to be having lunch there at the time and said you both appeared quite amicable. I want to hear the details," she pointed at her friend with her olive.
Pansy raised a brow. "If you're talking about Granger, that was an interview for a job as part of my research team. Nothing exciting or detailed happened," she pointed out.
"Wait, Granger is working for you? That's interesting. Are you aware of her preferences?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" Pansy looked at her in surprise. Preferences? As far as she knew, the Gryffindor princess used to date RonaldsWeasley and then just kept to herself.
"It was in the papers last summer. She was spotted by the editor of Prophet in Berlin. They printed photos of her dancing and kissing another woman in a gay bar for a week before the Sedgeway divorce scandal hit the news. How are you not aware of this?" She asked curiously.
Pansy shrugged. "It might have been during that time I was in Canada for the World Social Enterprise forum," she pointed out. "So I wouldn't have had access to it. Either way, you know how Prophet is, I doubt it was that straight-forward," she pointed out.
Astoria grinned. "Oh I think it is. God knows what she is, judging by those scars, but fully human is unlikely. Maybe that's why she's into women as well, makes you wonder what else is wrong with her," she mused, not really mindful of the impact of her words until it was too late. "You know what I mean, it's not-"
Pansy finished her drink and stood up. "I've got to go, I have a meeting to get to," she collected her handbag and stepped around her chair.
"You know what I meant, don't be like that," Astoria stood as well, not wanting them to part on a sour note.
"I'll call you later to rearrange drinks," was all Pansy said before heading for the car park to the apparition spot, ignoring Astoria's protests. Suddenly she found herself no longer in the mood for socialising.
For some reason, today Astoria's words hit a bit harder than usual. Maybe there really was something wrong with her for thinking she could be contented as she was, but meeting someone who wouldn't bore her to tears wasn't exactly an easy feat. The news about Granger's preferences sparked her interest though. Could they have more in common than she previously thought?