A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! Every now and again I get a message from someone who is surprised to see that they had reviewer responses in their inbox...for some reason, ffnet doesn't send email notifications for messages any longer. So, just FYI - I have been doing reviewer responses, you might just have to log into the browser app to see them :) You can also follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
Please let me know what you thought of chapter sixteen and be on the lookout for chapter seventeen soon!
Adrian couldn't deny that he was feeling a bit nervous to have Hermione over for dinner. He'd never had to arrange dinner for a witch before, and even though he wasn't doing any of the cooking (the Hogwarts house elves were more than happy to provide them dinner for two), he still wanted everything to go perfect. He didn't want to give Hermione any reason to question a relationship with him.
He hoped that's where this was heading - a relationship.
They hadn't discussed just what they were to one another. There was always a chance that Hermione only saw him as a passing diversion until the school year was over. He didn't really think that sounded like something his witch would do, but you could never be too sure. It wouldn't do to get his hopes up only to have them dashed.
He was amused when Hermione knocked at his apartment door right on time. He was glad that he didn't have to wait around too long - she was such a punctual witch. After she came in, he stuck his head out of the portrait to look around for Max. Seeing no sign of the wizard, he turned to Hermione. "Did you see any sign of our mutual friend?" he asked.
"No," Hermione shook her head. "But he did try to warn me that you had a witch over last night. I don't know why, but I think he might be trying to make me jealous."
Adrian frowned. "He keeps getting stranger and stranger," he said. "I hope you know that I'm not trying to keep you a secret, what with sneaking you out last night. But there is something about Max that doesn't sit well with me."
"I completely understand," Hermione agreed. "Even if people knew that we were together, I'd not really want them to know how we spend every minute together. I've had enough of bad gossip."
He knew that she was talking about her rather unfavorable coverage in the Daily Prophet's pages, and he understood completely. "Of course," he said, leading her towards the couch in front of the fireplace. Even though it was rapidly becoming spring, having a little fire to sit in front of was still very cozy.
"In any case, it sounds like we might be the only two people who didn't know how we felt about each other," she said, looking down with a pretty blush on her cheeks. "I told Ginny. I hope you don't mind, but she wasn't surprised."
Adrian laughed a little bit. "Of course I don't mind if you tell your friends about me," he said with a grin. "If you don't mind that I tell mine."
"I don't mind," Hermione assured him. "But, do you mind if we keep it just to close friends for right now? I would rather tell Harry and Ron myself and I don't need the rumor mill running wild and have them hear some kind of crazy story."
He knew that Ron Weasley in particular could jump to conclusions, certainly. He wondered if there was anything romantic between Hermione and Weasley. There had been a lot of discussion about it when he'd still been a student. "Of course," he agreed, thinking that it was smart.
If things went south, then he wouldn't look like a complete fool to all the students at Hogwarts.
"So, I was thinking that we could go through the rest of the census records and then have dinner," he offered, wanting to get through the business portion of their evening as quickly as possible. He wouldn't mind finishing where they left off before they were so rudely interrupted the night before.
She agreed and they split up the remaining records. It got easier as they went back through the years because the populations were smaller. But, even after combing through the census line by line, they found absolutely no mention of Max or a Purney family, leading them to the conclusion that they'd been facing all along.
"So, he's lying about who he is," Hermione said with a frown when she was finished. "Or where he's from."
"Or when he's from," Adrian quipped.
She agreed. "I just wonder why he would do it. It seems as if he should have no reason to do so," Hermione said, obviously annoyed when she couldn't figure out the secret of Max Purney.
Before they could talk about him too much more, though, a house elf was popping in to bring them their dinner. It wasn't anything fancy, just what they were serving in the Great Hall for dinner, but on the table in his apartment it looked rather like a feast. Adrian offered her a bit of firewhiskey, which he was surprised to see her take.
"What?" she asked, defensively. "I'm of age."
"I just didn't think of you as a firewhiskey girl," he answered, before handing her a glass.
"Well, I don't really know if I am one, but I won't know if I don't try," she said, before taking a tentative sip. It was clear that it was much stronger than she was expecting, but the more that she drank the more she relaxed into it.
Hermione was finding it hard to hide her smile. "It's been a long time since I've been on a date," she said shyly.
"I can say it's the same for me," Adrian told her. "My program is usually quite busy, so I don't have much time to socialize."
"Tell me more about your program. I didn't think that the Ministry usually coordinated with private masteries," Hermione said, obviously very interested in what he was studying.
"The end goal is to be a solicitor," Adrian explained, feeling pretty good about the work he'd accomplished so far. He worked very hard to achieve the future that he wanted. The Pucey family did not have the kind of cache that the Malfoys or the Blacks did, so he had always known he was going to have to work hard to get where he'd want to be. There was no cushy Ministry job waiting for him just based on his family name.
"You certainly have the talent for it," Hermione answered with a smirk, pushing her roasted brussel sprouts around her plate. "You argue better than anyone I know."
"I do like to win disputes," he answered. "I know I can be a little stubborn sometimes, though."
"Well, I can't act like I'm not the same," Hermione said, before taking another small sip of firewhiskey. "So, your mastery will be in Magical History then?"
"Actually, Magical History is just a personal interest of mine," Adrian revealed, glad that he was able to share this side of himself with her. If anyone would understand a "boring" hobby like Magical History. None of his friends had progressed in classes beyond what was required. "The mastery is in Archival Research...a bit more suited to help set up a solicitor."
"And how does the Ministry come into play then?" she asked, still curious.
Adrian knew it was unusual. "They need all the help that they can get right now, and I needed a practical project to complete the Mastery," he said. "When I heard that the project was here at Hogwarts, it seemed like the best option that I had."
"You have to admit that it's a pretty nice job," she said with a smile. "And, it's nice to know that the Hogwarts library is in good hands."
"Oh? Now you think I'll do a good job with the restoration?" he teased, knowing that it was a frequent argument topic between the two of them.
"I've always thought you were doing a good job, Adrian," Hermione revealed, before reaching across the table to give his hand a quick squeeze. "Just...maybe too good of a job where I was concerned. Anyway, what is your plan once you're done?"
"I'll be finished with my mastery," Adrian answered, puffing out his chest a little with pride. "And I will start an apprenticeship with a Magical Law firm. I've already got an offer from Belby and Miller."
She made a face, perhaps because of her familiarity with Marcus Belby, the useless nephew of Dehlia Belby.
"Hey, they are the best," he answered, knowing that it was a very high profile apprenticeship to nab. He could probably start his own practice after five years, if he stuck to his plans.
They were finished with their dinner, Adrian felt he'd exhausted his discussion about his job, and was embarrassed that he wasn't really sure what Hermione was going to do after Hogwarts. "What are your plans once you leave school?" he asked, curious. The world was Hermione's oyster, surely.
Hermione bit her lower lip while she thought over what she wanted to say. "You know, I still haven't really decided," she revealed, scrunching her nose, as though she were revealing some huge secret. He was sure that she hadn't shared this with anyone else. "I know that a lot of people want me to go into magical law enforcement, but I don't want to be an auror. Defense Against the Dark Arts was never my strongest suit."
"It's hard to believe that," Adrian quipped. "You helped take down You-Kn0w-Who and the Death Eaters."
She blushed again. "I mostly supported Harry," she said. "The truth is, I just don't know what I want to do. I don't feel like I'm done learning...I suppose I will go for a mastery myself. If I could ever pick a subject."
Adrian could understand where she was coming from, having one or two subjects that were fascinating to him and difficult to choose between. He'd made the choice to go with the career path that was more profitable. "Which are you choosing between?"
"Oh, I love Arithmancy," Hermione said, excitedly. "But, my best subject is probably Charms."
"Sounds like you have the makings of a curse breaker," Adrian told her. "I bet you'd do well at Gringotts."
"I don't know if you heard," Hermione said with a laugh. "But the goblins don't really like me."
He had heard that she'd freed one of their dragons, he remembered. "Well, if they still won't take you on," Adrian said. "When I'm a solicitor, I will sue them for you."
"Oh, you'd do that for me?" she teased. "An expensive solicitor like yourself? I don't know if I'll be able to afford you."
"I'd do it out of the goodness of my heart," he lied, standing up. Offering her his hand, he helped her stand up from the table and lead her towards the couch. "And maybe a kiss or two, if you're up for it?"
Hermione grinned, eagerly taking her place at his side on the couch, not letting his hand go. "I suppose that's a small price to pay," she said cheekily. Then, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his.
Adrian deepened the kiss almost immediately, hungry for her even though he'd kissed her less than twenty four hours prior. The newness of their relationship made him feel like he'd drunk a bottle of champagne on his own, warm and eager. He wanted nothing more than to suck on her neck and leave little love bites so that people would see and know that Hermione Granger was spoken for.
He grinned against her lips when he felt her greedy little fingers sneak under his shirt and ghost against his skin. Adrian knew that she was just as excited with him as he was with her. Pulling away briefly, Adrian looked down at her. "Would you like to go somewhere a little more comfortable?" he asked.
She bit her lip again. "You mean...like your room?" she asked, with eyebrow raised.
Adrian shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to push her too fast. "If you wanted to," he offered.
Hermione hopped up from the settee faster than he would have guessed, before pulling him up by his hand. Once he was returned to his full height, she gave him a shy smile. "Well, then," she teased. "Lead the way."