AN: Barely have time to post before work but I'm sticking to the schedule dang it! Hope you all have a fantastic week!
"Is nothing sacred to this woman?"
Hermione was pacing her office, chewing her thumbnail and trying to contain her ire. She needed to think, needed a plan, and she couldn't think properly if she allowed her anger to take over. Even if it was rather tempting.
"Are you really surprised she would violate Hermione's privacy?"
Luna's voice filtered in between Hermione's rampaging thoughts and brought her back into her office.
"She should know better," Hermione said calmly. She pushed her anger back into its cage and begged her logical mind to take over. "I've had to force her to leave me alone in the past, and I had thought she had learned her lesson."
Ginny arched an eyebrow at her and asked, "What did you do?"
A sly grin spread over Hermione's lips. "Oh, just a small amount of blackmail."
"A small amount?" Ginny sounded skeptical. "How much is a small amount?"
"I found out she's an unregistered beetle animagus."
Luna waved a hand in Hermione's direction and muttered, "I told you she buzzed a lot."
Ginny looked baffled and demanded, "You knew?"
"Of course not."
"But you said she buzzed?"
Luna shrugged delicately. "Her lies make her an insect."
Hermione nodded as though that made perfect sense while Ginny gave her a desperate look.
"Please, Luna, can you make sense just once in your life?"
"Of course not," Luna said sharply. "I have a reputation to uphold."
Rubbing her temples and grumbling under her breath, Ginny walked over to one of the couches and plopped down into the soft cushions. "I love you, Luna, but I swear to Merlin you're going to be the death of me."
Luna patted the top of Ginny's head and said in a sing-song voice, "Don't worry, darling, you'll enjoy every moment."
"Can we please focus on the situation at hand?" Hermione asked. "I would like to deal with Skeeter as swiftly as possible." She needed a distraction - from the article, from Theo ignoring her, from everything. Rita Skeeter was the perfect, temporary distraction.
Ginny leaned backward over the edge of the couch so she could look at Hermione, albeit upside down. "What did you have in mind?" She swatted at Luna's hand which was trying to play with her hair and glared. "We could report her and ruin her career?"
Luna shook her head and skipped over to the other couch across from Ginny. "No, I think that would be too kind for her."
The room fell silent as the other two women gazed at Luna in shock. She was always the gentle one of the group; slow to anger and the only calming hand able to keep Ginny's notorious temper in check. For Luna to voice such an aggressive opinion of someone was surprising and spoke volumes.
"Luna," Hermione asked hesitantly, "what do you think we should do?"
A slow, wicked grin spread over Luna's usually angelic features and caused a cold chill to run down Hermione's spine. "If she is willing to spend all of her energy and time trying to ruin your reputation, I believe we should return the favor in kind."
"Wonderfully vague," Ginny said sarcastically. "Mind simplifying it for us mere mortals?" She ducked swiftly to dodge a pillow thrown at her face and laughed.
Luna tried to give her an intimidating look but ultimately failed and smiled dreamily instead. "She values her reputation as well as her standing in wizarding society above all else. We should ruin both."
Ginny groaned dramatically and looked ready to shake the poor blonde for only rewording what she had already said, so Hermione quickly intervened.
"Why don't we step out for an early lunch? I think we will all be able to better scheme on full stomachs."
She knew food was the easiest way to distract Ginny, and she wasn't disappointed. Ginny smoothly vaulted over the back of the couch and dashed for the door. "Last one there pays!"
They decided on a small cafe further down Diagon Alley and were thankful that it was relatively empty when they arrived. Despite the lack of a crowd, the women were distinctly aware of the intense stares coming from the few customers inside. Doing their best to ignore them, they placed their food orders with a passing waitress and claimed a table tucked snuggly in a corner of the small building.
"I've never been able to get used to the stares," Ginny grouched and slouched further into her chair, as though she could become one with the furniture and fade from view.
Luna met the gazes around them unflinchingly, as if daring them to approach or speak. "Unfortunately, I don't believe they are staring at us, Ginny."
Hermione looked around and realized Luna was right; everyone in the room was staring directly at her in varying degrees of subtly. Damn that article. She resisted the urge to join Ginny, who was nearly under the table, and settled for picking at the floral table cloth in front of her.
She had been lucky after the war, she realized. The staring of grateful and starry-eyed citizens around them had been a weight she had avoided bearing when she disappeared into the muggle world. The muggles had been blissfully unaware of the war against Voldemort and had no idea she was any sort of heroine or veteran. Hermione cringed slightly at the twang of guilt that ran through her. She truly had abandoned her friends to handle so much on their own.
Hermione felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder, and looked up to see a pair of blue eyes looking back at her full of more understanding than she was comfortable with.
Luna gave her a gentle smile. "Everyone heals in their own ways."
Whatever Hermione was going to say in response was cut off by the arrival of their food. Thankfully the waitress didn't linger too long; she simply set down their trays, gave Hermione a lingering look, and then disappeared into the back room. Ginny had grumbled something under her breath about 'nosy good for nothings' but had left the waitress alone and instead opted for digging into her meal with gusto.
Hermione tried to eat but found her appetite swiftly fading under the weight of so many gazes around her. She sighed quietly and stood from the table. "I'm going to step into the loo." She left the table before either one of them could offer to come with her.
She swiftly made her way through the restaurant and heaved a sigh of relief as the thick wood of the bathroom door was finally able to block out the gazes of the customers. Her skin was crawling from the feeling of so many people looking at her, judging her, thinking they knew anything about her. It made her angry, but it mostly made her sick. She had taken the anonymity of living in the muggle world for granted, and she longed to return to it. It would be easy to apparate away, disappear back into the masses and lose herself again, but that would be running. And Hermione Granger didn't run. Right?
She looked up at herself in the bathroom mirror and frowned. She didn't like what she saw there - the fear in her eyes, the shame that still lingered behind her smile. No matter how much she tried to distract herself, she felt it every time she looked at Ginny and Luna. A graduate of Gryffindor, house of the brave, and here she was cowering in the bathroom like she was eleven years old once more.
"Tch," she scoffed and gave herself a harsh look. "You left your bravery at Hogwarts, didn't you?"
The disappointment she felt was overwhelming and felt as though it pushed against she shoulders as she leaned against the bathroom sink. She was so absorbed in her self-deprecating thoughts that she nearly missed the sound of the bathroom door opening and the sharp clip of heels walking across the tile towards her.
A startled Pansy Parkinson met her gaze in the mirror.
"Well, this just saved me several hours of looking for you."
Hermione frowned at her and turned to face her. "Why would you be looking for me?"
Pansy rolled her eyes. "You're the talk of the town again, Granger. Why wouldn't I be looking for you?"
The sharp tightening in her chest made it hard for Hermione to breath. "I should have assumed you would flock with the rest of the s, Parkinson. Aren't the sheep of society below your station?"
"Of course they are." Pansy picked at her immaculate finger nails and looked entirely indifferent to the fact that they were having this conversation in a public bathroom. "I am here on behalf of Theodore."
There was that tightness again followed by a wave of nausea. "He feels the need to have you play owl between us?" It was half a question, half a statement. She knew Theo was avoiding her, but seeing the evidence in front of her was still a little painful. Of course he would send someone else to speak with her; they couldn't very well be seen in public together while that article was still circulating.
"Oh, he didn't send me." Pansy rolled her eyes at Hermione's obvious confusion. "He has been sitting at home rather distraught over the last few days, and it took me far too much effort to extract the details of the situation from him."
"So you haven't seen the article?"
Pansy's laugh was cruel and echoed through the small space. "Of course I saw it, Granger. All of Wizarding Britain has seen your latest love affair."
"It's not -"
"I know," Pansy said condescendingly. It made Hermione's hackles rise. "It isn't what it looks like. There is absolutely no chance of Theodore Nott sullying himself with the likes of you."
Hermione tried to hide her anger at Pansy's obvious attempt to get a rise out of her and raised a cool brow in question. "Then why are you here?"
"To help you." Pansy raised a hand to cut off Hermione's protests. "Believe me, Granger, this is the last thing I would like to be doing with my time. However, your actions have effected my friends which in turn effects me. So whether you like it or not, I am here to stay until this travesty is remedied and that horrid excuse of a woman is brought to her knees."
She wanted to protest, she truly did, but Hermione knew Pansy Parkinson was an enviable resource and one she wouldn't be able to come by easily in any other circumstances. For once, her common sense lost in the internal struggle with her boiling, seething need to revenge.
Pansy smirked when she saw the hardened sheen of resolve come over Hermione's gaze. She knew an unrelenting beast of wrath was thrashing just underneath Hermione's skin, begging to be released upon the world. And it would be Pansy's pleasure to release it.
—..—
Theodore's gaze roved over the page of his book for the hundredth time without seeing or comprehending a single word it contained.
He was trying, albeit futilely, to distract himself. He had made tea, started a fire in his fireplace, and cleaned the entirety of Nott Manor, all without magic and none of it had done him any good.
He was stressed.
No, 'stressed' wasn't a strong enough word for what he was feeling. Theo had avoided the spotlight his entire life despite who his friends, and often times enemies, were. He had never volunteered in class, never stood out in a crowd, and had all but disappeared into the stonework of the places around him. And he preferred it that way.
Theo was perfectly content to remain in the shadows, so having his life thrown into such turmoil and fed to the beasts that were the socialites of the Wizarding World was probably his worst nightmare. If boggarts could be situations or events, this would be his.
He tossed his book onto the coffee table, gently mind you, and scrubbed at his eyes in frustration. Pansy had left several hours ago, and he still hadn't heard anything from her, good or bad. He probably should have known better than to call on her for help, but Pansy had always been the level-headed one of their friend group. The problem solver. But when she had read that article…
Theo shivered at the memory of Pansy losing her temper and wondered, not for the first time, if she had gone out to simply murder Rita Skeeter and be done with it.
He felt a wave of relief when he heard the front door of the manor opening and then closing loudly, but the relief was short lived as a very drunk, very loud Blaise came stumbling into his study.
"Theo, mate." His voice was slurred and his balance precarious as he made his way carelessly over to the couch in front of the fireplace. "You missed the most incredible pair o' witches at the bar just now."
"Blaise, are you aware that it is barely past noon on a Tuesday?" Theo tried to sound reprimanding, but he couldn't suppress the amusement he found in Blaise's ability to butcher the human language and allowed himself a small smile.
Blaise didn't even have the decency to look ashamed; rather he looked confused by what Theo was trying to imply. "I haven't forgotten the day, if that's what your asking."
The urge to throw the nearest item at Blaise was always present, but especially so when he was drunk. Eying the lamp beside him, Theo said, "Thank you for stopping by, unannounced as always, but I am a little busy here, Blaise."
"I'll say!"
Theo winced at Blaise's shouting and rubbed his eyes again.
"I'm your best mate, Theo!"
"Draco is my best mate."
"You should have told me about your new bird," Blaise continued yelling, letting his selective hearing skip over the insult.
"I don't have a 'new bird'." He could feel a headache coming on. "That article was a foul misinterpretation of completely innocent events between two friends."
Blaise glared at him from his position sprawled across the couch and pointed an accusing finger. "Since when did you become friends with that?"
'That' being Hermione Granger, Theo assumed. He was surprised by the frustration he felt towards Blaise's dismissal of the witch. "She," he said with emphasis, "has been my friend for several weeks now. You have been too busy with booze and women to pay any attention to the people around you, as per usual, and missed the several times I mentioned her."
Blaise's glare quickly morphed into confused squinting as he tried to recall any such conversations. When he was unsuccessful, he opted for groaning loudly and throwing an arm across his eyes. "Whatever, mate, it's your life. You can ruin it however you like."
"Isn't that usually my line?" Theo asked dryly. He stared into the fire for several moments, thinking about the article and everything that had transpired since it's release, and finally said, "Pansy offered to help, but I fear she may have gone and done something drastic." When Blaise said nothing, he continued, "I haven't heard from her in several hours and may have to try and find her."
Again, Blaise remained quiet.
"Would you -"
His question was cut off by a startlingly loud snore. Blaise, the ever useless, had fallen asleep.
Theo had just started debating between strangling Blaise and going after Pansy, when the witch in question was spit out of his fireplace.
She daintily dusted off her robes and gave Blaise a disgusted glance. "Is he aware it is hardly past noon on a Tuesday?"
"Painfully."
She scoffed and tossed her outer robe onto Blaise's face. He didn't so much as twitch.
"What did you do?" Theo was honestly scared to ask, but he couldn't see any signs of violence or blood on Pansy's immaculate wardrobe. He was hopeful.
"Always with the accusatory tone," she said with a sigh. "Your lack of faith is hurtful, Theo."
"I have complete faith in you," he argued. "Faith in your ability to commit murder and not get caught."
She gave him a conspiratorial wink which did nothing to assuage his concerns. "Have no fear, I only went to speak with Granger."
He couldn't decide if that was better than murder or worse.
"We had a quick chat about that Skeeter woman, and then joined the she-Weasley and Lovegood for a less than adequate lunch in a little shack in Diagon Alley. I would say the meal was…," she trailed off and then gave him a feral smile that was all teeth and dark promises. "Enlightening."
Worse. This was definitely worse.