Chapter Title—Alanis Morisette… As always, J.K. Rowling and E.L. James take the credit for their own brilliance… I'm simply borrowing from their minds and twisting it to my own liking and hopefully that of others.
50 Shades of Harmony
Chapter 2: You Learn
My heart is trying to escape my chest. I don't know if I can stand being around all these people when it feels like I'm going to collapse here in the elevator because of that one interview. I'm never going to do that again… Especially with anyone like Harry Potter. I need to cool down. Instead of taking the floo directly back to Hogwarts, I step out into the cool London air. I can walk to the Leaky Cauldron from here and go to Hogsmeade and then walk back up to school.
No one has ever affected me the way that Harry Potter has. I'm Hermione Granger—studious, hardworking, and sometimes scary with my intelligence from what Luna has said… But that MAN back there made me feel… Different. Like I could be another person. Someone who he actually desired. But that's insane. He could have any witch in the whole world that he wanted…he was that handsome. There would be no way that plain me could ever have someone like him. He's done so many things for his young age… And what have I done? Nothing compared to that. I'm sure that my professors would point out how I'm the brightest witch of the century to pass through Hogwarts. They take pride in telling me that a lot and making me blush because for the longest time I had a hard time making friends because of how much of a know-it-all I can be… But this man… He makes me feel like I could be so much more…
I shake my head and continue my walk. At one point I feel like I am being stared at and turn around to look behind me. All I can see is the Ministry of Magic almost glaring at me, taunting me. It's like his eyes burning into me, trying to figure out all that I am and everything that I've done. Stop it! I yell at myself mentally. Think of how arrogant he was. That is almost enough for all his good qualities to be diminished. Sure, he's very polite, but he's got a coldness to him that in itself could make a whole town freeze. But his passion…the way he wants to feed the world… He's got a past that not even I can figure out right now. No one becomes that passionate about something without experiencing something that makes you change the way you look at the world.
As I continue to walk towards the Leaky Cauldron, I'm still thinking about the enigma that is Harry Potter. What was his past like? Why is he so cryptic? And Luna's questions… What was that girl thinking?! 'Are you gay?' I shudder. Every time I think about asking him that, I've never been so embarrassed. I'll also shiver about him calling me Hermione though… It had such an effect on me that it's almost as wrong as how good looking that man is. Damn Luna Lovegood and her bloody questions!
When I finally reach the Leaky Cauldron, I have to sit down. My thoughts won't quit racing about those brilliant emerald eyes and the intensity in them. I can't decide if I hate the man or if I'm completely bonkers about him… Something that I never have to think about. Something that's not me. Tom comes over and hands me a drink—I don't ask what it is, we don't speak, I just swallow it and thank him, handing him a galleon for it.
"Any time, lass. No pretty face should look that lost," he says as he moves on to other customers.
I get up and go into the back room to use the floo and go to Hogsmeade where I can get myself back to Hogwarts. Luna Lovegood and I need to have a chat about this.
By the time that I reach my dorm, Luna is sitting in the little common room that Neville and I share. You'd think the girl practically lived there—which she did most days. Neville had joked once that he needed go to back to the Gryffindor boys' dormitories and just give Luna his room. We'd even thought about taking him up on his offer until we realized that McGonagall probably wouldn't go along with the plan.
"Hermione! You're back!" Luna says sitting up from her position on the couch. "I was beginning to worry… I expected you back sooner."
"I thought I made good time considering I walked to the Leaky Cauldron and from Hogsmeade. What are you doing back already? I figured you'd be gone all day," I say as I sit my purse down and kick off my shoes. She immediately begins to dig through my purse looking for the parchments and the quill.
"Well, turns out that Daddy got the wrong year… Nargles won't be out till next year for people to see them if they know where to look. We made our way there to get thrown out of the area by the muggle police… Where are the parchments at? You and this bottomless bag, Hermione…"
Hermione waved the parchments in her hand. "You mean these?"
"Hermione, thank you so much for doing this… I owe you, I know. What was he like? How was it? Was he as handsome as everyone says?" Luna began to ramble as she grabbed for the parchments.
"Before you read these, I want you to know something. I'm so glad that it's over and that I don't have to see him again until graduation and then never after that. He was… I don't even know how to describe it, Luna. There's something about him that screams that he's terrifying… I mean, you have to be to have defeated You-Know-Who, right? But nothing can prepare you for talking to the man one-on-one. He's so focused… So intense. Why didn't you tell me this?"
Luna looks down at the ground. I frown.
"Why didn't you tell me, Luna? I looked like such an idiot… I even asked him at what age he was adopted and he told me to go read a book. ME to go READ A BOOK! I felt like such an idiot…"
Luna lets out a giggle but the look I give her stops her from holding her stomach in the humor of it.
"How old is he anyways? I mean… I knew he was older than us… But… He looks like he could have graduated just a couple years ago!"
"Twenty-four, actually. Maybe you should read a book about him, Hermione. An unofficial biography about Harry Potter might be just what you need to read. I figured you'd know more about him Hermione, I'm sorry."
I roll my eyes. "It's okay, truly. He was mostly polite. He seems a lot older than twenty-four… Like he's lived two life times or so. I guess that could happen to someone when you defeat a dark lord… Crap! What time is it?" I ask, turning to look towards the clock that hangs over the fireplace.
"Almost four o'clock… Why?" Luna asks.
"If I hurry, I can still make it back down to Hogsmeade. I forgot that I worked at QuidSups today because of all this… I forgot to owl Lucius and tell him I wouldn't be in… If I still have time, I should really get to work. Here are the answers to all your wonderful questions, Luna. I'll see you tonight!" I say, run quickly into my room to throw on jeans instead of skirt, put back on my flats, then run out of the door to get back to Hogsmeade.
After the war, part of Lucius Malfoy's payment to society had been to open a store that gave seventy-five percent of its profits to Hogwarts for muggleborn students. Another part of his 'punishment' had been to have a muggleborn always working in his store. Hermione Granger had been looking for a job as soon as she hit her seventh year and Malfoy had been quick to snatch up the smart girl. While she didn't know anything about Quidditch, she was brilliant at inventory and such… The exact thing that his son, Draco, was not good at. Lucius basically got to remain a member of society while his son did most of the work for him and Hermione did the rest of it.
I'm glad that I was able to go to work. It might not be the best job, but it helped pay for things that I needed during the school year rather than ask my parents for money. It also gave me something other to think about than Harry Potter. We're pretty busy at QuidSups because Hogwarts is getting ready to have its final match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The rest of the year we're moderately busy with students and the rest of the town coming in but whenever Hogwarts has a match it seems like we're swamped. I almost want to tell Lucius he could actually work during this time rather than leaving Draco and I to do all the work, but I really do enjoy having a job.
"Hermione! I'm glad to see you made it in today! You're never late," Draco says as he walks past while he's handling a customer.
"Graduation stuff. Tell your dad I'm sorry when you see him. I'll be here till closing tonight," I say as I take stock of all that Draco's sold today.
"I will. I'm glad you made it in," he says with a nod and walks off.
I'm quickly taken in by how much we've sold today and making lists for Lucius to reorder. Organization—my key to successfully forgetting Harry Potter exists for a couple of hours.
When I get back up to Hogwarts right before curfew, Luna is still in my common room, humming away to the wireless. She writing so fast that it looks like the quill is flying across the page. I collapse next to her, trying to see what she's writing.
"Oh! Hermione! You scared me… I figured I'd crash here for the night, Neville said it was okay before he went to bed… I needed some quiet space to write this article. You got some amazing stuff in here! I can't believe you turned him down on showing you around the Ministry! The Minister doesn't do that for anyone. He's got people to show around his new employees… It's amazing, Hermione. He wanted to spend more time with you and you completely crushed his idea." Luna rambles off, finally putting her quill down on the small coffee table.
My heart races, just like it did during the interview. Luna can be so forward sometimes that it catches you by surprise. Luckily for me I've gotten use to most of my best friend's quirks. I'm sure that Potter just wanted to show me around. He's always looking for a way to forward his business. I realize that I'm biting my lip out of habit of thinking too much. I hope that Luna doesn't notice because she likes to tell me that I should have been a Ravenclaw rather than a Gryffindor for how much my brain works. Luckily for me, she seems to be so absorbed in her reading what she's written that she doesn't notice.
"I see what you mean about him, though. It's even obvious through these notes how intense he can be. I wish we could have got some pictures, though. That'd make this article amazing. Daddy might even ask me to become a full journalist from this article alone, Hermione. I can't thank you enough for this. He's really good looking, isn't he?"
"I guess," I say, back to biting my lip. Please don't look up now, Luna.
"Come on, Hermione… Even you can't be immune to him. I know you're like, anti-romance over there, but he's got charm, you've got to admit it." Luna says smiling as she finally looks up from her parchment.
Nargles! I think, laughing inwardly from my new use of Luna's animals. I can feel my cheeks going red from her remarks. She smiles even more knowing that she's hit a button inside of me.
"You probably could have got so much more out of the interview than me, though. You've got a bigger personality than me. Besides, you seem to fit into his type. All of his female employees were blonde that worked directly for him. The only time I seen another hair color was when I was one the first floor. Speaking of his type why did you ask if he was gay? That question was…ugh. He seemed pissed that I asked it."
"Whenever there's any sort of Ministry ball or anything, he's always by himself. You see him with his family or bodyguards, but there's never a date. I was just curious as to why. A man like that should have no problems getting a date."
I nod. "It was so embarrassing though. The whole thing was embarrassing. Did I tell you that I literally fell into his office?"
"You didn't!"
"I did. For all that I am, graceful has never been a word to describe you. My unfortunate habit picked just that moment to kick in. I was mortified, Luna. Completely mortified."
Luna smiled, remembering all the times that I had tripped over my own feet. "For what it's worth, Hermione, he seemed to be completely taken with you. If I were you, I'd go for it if you ever got the chance to. Who wouldn't want to be with him?"
"Ugh, Luna… Just ugh. Would you like some pumpkin juice? I need something to drink."
"Please!" She says, giving off her dreamy smile again, then going back to work.
I sigh as I stand up and go to the magical plant portrait that's really an opening the kitchens that we have in our common room to ask the house elves for some pumpkin juice, shaking my head the entire time at the being that is Luna Lovegood, the woman that I call my best friend.
The rest of the evening, there are no more words mentioned of Harry Potter. Luna continues on her article and I study for my Charms NEWT. Finally Luna yawns and says she's going to sleep. I big her goodnight as she goes to make her bed on the couch like she does every night. I stretch my arms, trying to get the blood flowing through them again. I decide that maybe I should try to get some sleep myself before class tomorrow. I go to bed and dream of cold, white offices and haunting green eyes.
The week goes by very fast. I study and work at QuidSups. Luna is busy, too, trying to finish a few other articles that her father had her working on and touching up her own article. I owled my mother to see how her and my father are doing. I hope that her and Daddy are still doing well. They decided that they needed to go to Australia when I entered my seventh year at Hogwarts. They said that they just felt that they were supposed to go there and Mom's always listened to her inner feelings. That's one thing about her that I'll never understand. I told her about Harry Potter...in a sense. I told her how I had gone to an interview for Luna and how much it bothered me. I didn't tell her how I'm still having dreams of those green eyes. I open the letter from her that I just received.
Hermione,
Australia is wonderful, dear! I'm so glad that your father and I moved here. You'll have to come to visit after your graduation sometime! I'm sure that a nice tan would do wonders for you. I'm sure you'll need to relax some after all the work you've been putting in studying for your NEWTs. Your father sends his love. He's busy in the garden as I write this. Who would have known how much you father loved to plant flowers? He's currently experimenting on crossing-breeding different types. Now that sounds like you're father, I'm sure you're thinking.
I'm sending along a few novels that I read lately that I think will help you study. You always need a break my child. And knowing you, you're reading this, rolling your eyes, and thinking about how wrong I am… But remember, dear, I know you very well even if I don't get to see you more than a couple weeks of the year.
It sounds like you're quite taken with this man. What's his name again? I don't believe you mentioned it. You really should date more, dear. It's good for your health to be a healthy relationship. Not to mention the things it can do for your mood! If I could only express how much Australia has helped your father and I…
Now that I've got you shaking your head at me, I'll tell you good-bye and that I love you, Hermione. Good luck on your NEWTs and we'll see you for your graduation!
All my love,
Mom
Everything that my mother says about me doing, I did. My mother and I are completely different people. I've always related more to my father. But she is my mother and I love her and all her quirks. I think that's why Luna and I became friends so fast…she's so much like my mother it's scary.
Neville and I have been in the same classes since we first came to Hogwarts. He's been another good friend of mine. He was the first friend I made in Gryffindor when the rest of the house would make fun of being for being a little know-it-all. If it weren't for him and Luna, I'm sure that I'd still be like that. It would be him that knew that Luna and I were thinking about going down to the Hog's Head to forget about the craziness that our life has become.
"Neville, I love you!" Luna says, throwing her arms around him as he walks through the portrait with a bottle of firewhiskey peeking out from his bag.
"Geez, Luna… It's not like we're in our NEWTs week or anything, right?" He says, smiling over at me as I smile back. Neville's always thought Luna was a bit…loony…but he's accepted her for who she is, just as he has me.
He sat down in the chair opposite of me as Luna made her way back to her couch-bed. He sat the bottle of firewhiskey down on the table then looked back up at me. "You'll never guess what I just heard."
"The house elves are dancing around the house tables?" Luna asks, looking completely serious before she giggles.
"Funny, Luna. No… The Ministry's looking for someone to redo the statue that's there on the first floor. I submitted some designs back at the beginning of the year for kicks, but I just got an owl from the Minister's secretary telling me that after graduation, I'm going to be making the statue!"
"Neville! That's great! What'd your Gran say about it?" I ask.
Neville shrugs. "I didn't tell her. She's always expected me to go into medicine since I'm so good at Herbology… I don't have the heart to tell her that while I love it, stuff like this is more my passion, you know?"
Neville and I are great friends. We've never been as close and Luna and I have been because deep down I know he's always wanted something more…something I could never think of having with him. He's cute and funny. I can remember him during our first year constantly having different potions covering his face and breaking different bones in his body because he was even clumsier than I am. But he's like the brother I've never had. Luna likes to tease me about my anti-romance feelings towards having a boyfriend, especially when I've got Neville around so much. Truth be told, though, the only man who's sparked something like that inside of me…well, let's just say the green eyes still are in my dreams, day dreams… Just about every thought I've had in my head for the last week seems to involve him in some way. It's not that I've never wanted to romance, it's just that a part of me truly is like my mother—I'll tell myself when it's the right time. I blame the stupid fairytales that little girls are told about knights in shining armor coming to rescue you. Everyone needs their own Prince Charming.
Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with me. As I've grown up, it hasn't just been the fairytales that kids are told… It's in most of the novels that our age holds. You can't seem to pick up a book without some amazing man being the idol of every female's eye. Sometimes I think that the literary world completely doomed me when it comes to love because of these unknown expectations that I have. Then again, Harry Potter almost fit the description of the hero that any heroine is looking for. Minus the arrogance and controlling issue, maybe. I think to myself. Again I find myself going back to asking him if he was gay. No, Hermione, I'm not. Shiver run down my spine as I think of him saying my name. Somehow, someway, I need to find a way to get Harry Potter out of my head.
I watch Neville open the bottle of firewhiskey and pour us each a shot. He's grown up so much over the years and now, according to the other females of Hogwarts, he's one of the sexiest guys we've got. I have to admit, he's attractive in his own Neville way. I finally think that he's getting it though that we're just friends, which is good because I don't know what I'd do without his friendship. He looks up at me and smiles as he hands me over my shot.
Saturday at QuidSups is crazy. I don't ever remember us being so busy when there wasn't a game going on at Hogwarts. It's been so insane that even I've had to stop inventory count and help with the customers—something I'm sure that has Lucius almost cringing when he sees the deer-in-the-headlights look I give some customers giving me when their asking about brooms. I've picked up enough over my Hogwarts years and working here to do okay, but most of the customers seek out Draco once they're done with me to make sure that they're getting what they actually want rather than what I think they need. When I finally find a break and am able to go back to my inventory, another customer approaches me. I can hear the footsteps approaching, so I slowly look up from counting the number of Firebolt cleaning kits that we have on the shelf right now. "Can I…"
Heart. Stop.
"Miss Granger. How wonderful it is to see you again." All I can do is stare into those intense emerald eyes.
Merlin's beard! What is HARRY POTTER doing in QuidSups?! He has a million Quidditch stores around Europe, I'm sure… Well, maybe not that many but still… Why would he come to the store that I am working at? He's looking much less formal than he did in our interview wearing a sweater and khakis, but he's still got that formal appearance that seems to trail along with him. For the second time in my life that I can remember, I'm completely lost for words.
"Mr. Potter," I manage to whisper, once I remember that it's only polite to acknowledge his presence as he has mine.
He seems to be enjoying his own little joke as his eyes light up with a smile. "I was in the area, visiting Headmistress McGonagall, when she recommended this store to me when I mentioned that I needed a few supplies. I've been meaning to come in here any way to see how Mr. Malfoy is doing. Haven't had much time to talk to him personally since the war ended. It's a great pleasure of mine to be able to see you again though, Miss Granger." His voice is making my insides doing their own cartwheels.
It's like I have a bunch of fairies floating around inside that are threatening to attack me if I don't speak to this man. I find myself blushing at just him saying 'Miss Granger'. When have I ever been like this? NEVER! What is wrong with me? Maybe I should have Madame Pompfrey check me out when I get back to Hogwarts… I don't think she'd do as good as job as check me out as I am doing of checking him… HERMIONE! I scream at myself, shaking my head and trying to gather my thoughts. The things this man does to me… And he's here, at my work, talking to me. This man that has been haunting my dreams, making me think of things that I've never thought about with any man before… I mean, sure, I've thought about snogging someone. I've thought about sex. But…never with the intensity that I've thought of those things with this man standing here in front of me. I really should have a check-up with Madame Pompfrey. Something is truly wrong with me.
"Hermione. My name is Hermione," I say, finally finding my voice in the chaos that this man has done to my brain. "What can I help you with, Mr. Potter? As an expert in Quidditch I'm sure that you know exactly what you need."
"I always know exactly what I need, Hermione. The first on my list happens to be some broom ties," he says, again with the amused look like he has some joke running through his head as he speaks to me.
Nargles! I shouldn't have said my name like that… Ugh! Broom ties, broom ties…
"We've got various lengths for various brooms in the aisle over, Mr. Potter. Would you like me to show you?" I asked, trying to be a good employee instead of thinking the wicked thoughts I've been thinking about with this man.
The amused look finally leaves his face. "Please, Miss Granger. Show the way." He motions for me to lead the way.
One foot in front of the other. Avoid stepping on your own feet, Granger, get a grip! I'm very glad that I decided that I needed to wear my flats again this morning because if I had worn the boots that Lucius wants Draco and I to wear some days, I'd be flat on the floor for the second time in front of Harry Potter. Again my thoughts can't help but go to how good looking the man following behind me is. I've never been so glad that I wore my best pair of jeans today. I add a little bit more swing into my hips, trying to be a little bit sexy as I walk in front of him.
"Here we are, Mr. Potter," I say, motioning to the shelves that contain broom ties.
"Thank you, Miss Granger. I've got a few other things on my list if you'd be so kind as to wait for me to be the correct ties for my activities," he says with that damn amused look again.
Why is he visiting McGonagall? I can never remember him coming to the castle any other time… "Why were you at Hogwarts, Mr. Potter?"
"We were going over my plans for the graduation ceremony, Miss Granger. I've decided for each O that the students get on their NEWTs I will be donating one hundred galleons towards the NEWT classes alone," he says, never taking his eyes off of the ties.
"Oh. Wow…that's very generous," I say, blinking. If I receive O's in all of my subjects like I plan on doing, that will be eight hundred galleons. If all the students in my class receive even four O's... Holy crickets! How much money DOES this man have?!
He picks up a brand that is closest to me and full stands up. I can feel my legs go to pudding as I compare how he stands beside me. He's tall, masculine, complete muscle…utterly handsome. And here I am beyond plain, completely average… What in the world am I thinking?
"Is…is there anything else?" I ask, taking the time to admire the floor from the standing level.
"I'd like some masking tape."
"Masking tape?" I ask. I want to smack my head as soon as the words come out of my mouth.
"Yes, Miss Granger. When riding a broom it gives the hands more grip," he says, eyeing me with the intensity that makes the little fairies come back and try to break out of my stomach.
"Don't you have all this at your place? For flying, I mean."
"Of course, Miss Granger. I'm just running low and figured I'd stock up," he says, again with that damn amusing smile like he's laughing at me. I feel like a regular comedian for this man for how much I humor him.
"This way," I say as I begin to walk. "Masking tape is kept at the back of the store because most people prefer to use magic over the muggle way. Lucius wouldn't have it in the store if some muggleborn hadn't suggested it that actually played Quidditch."
"Have you worked here long?" he asks, completely flabbergasting me. He's looking at me like he's trying to figure me out, like I'm some hard puzzle that needs to be solved. It's almost scary.
"Since the beginning of the year. My parents moved to Australia and I needed to find a way to not ask them for money so much since I'm so close to graduation," I say as I reach down to pick up the only masking tape we have in the store and take a mental note that I need to add that to my stocking list. "Here you go, last one," I say as I hand it over to him.
"Thank you, Miss Granger. One last thing on my list… Rope."
I give him a questioning look because for the life of me I can't figure out what rope has to do with Quidditch. I really wish that Draco could give me a manual for all the uses of some of our supplies around this place that make no sense to me…
"That's just over here… We've got a few kinds. Natural, twine, cable… Which kind did you want?" I ask, drawing out my wand and looking into his eyes. My eyes went wide at the darkness that seemed to creep into his with the look that he was giving me. What did I do? I just asked what kind of rope that he wanted…
"Natural," he says, his voice even deeper than it normally is.
"How long?" I ask, looking away from those brilliant eyes that could make any woman scream his name in pleasure. Did I really just think that?
"Five yards should be plenty, Miss Granger."
I wordless cast the spell that will severe the rope apart at the approximate length that he had asked for. I turn around to see him still staring at me with those dark eyes.
"Were you a Girl Scout?" he asks, his eyes going back to being amused with me.
"Where did that come from, Mr. Potter?" I ask, very confused. How did he even know I was a muggleborn or knew what Girl Scouts were?
"The way that you're rolling up the rope. It's not done that way in many other of my stores. Most of they just use magic to tie it together. You're actually rolling it up."
"Um…organized activities were never my thing as a child, Mr. Potter."
He gives me a look. "What was your thing then, Hermione?"
"Books," I whisper. "I preferred to be reading." I'm mentally beating myself up for almost slipping up and saying that he was my thing. I was about ready to tell him what he's doing to me, how he's affecting me.
"What kind?" he asks, seeming very interested in knowing.
"As a child I loved Jane Austen. Anything she wrote really was a companion of mine… But really, almost anything would do. I could read anything."
He nods, apparently liking my answer. Or else he's bored with me now that he realizes that I'm the studious type of person rather than the type that enjoys flying.
"Anything else you need?" I ask, suddenly wanting to retreat back to my desk…or anywhere that was not next to this man.
"I'm not completely sure. Anything else that you'd recommend from this store?"
I'm not completely sure, either. I can't even figure out what you're doing with broom ties, masking tape, and rope. Those are about the most unusual Quidditch supplies I've ever heard of. "For someone who truly loves flying?" I ask.
He nods.
"Our Quidditch robes are some of the best around. We've got every house team from Hogwarts and even some of the Professionals."
"Don't you think I have enough clothes, Miss Granger?"
"I don't think a flyer could ever be wearing enough clothes, Mr. Potter. When you're that high up, you'll never know what one robe will do with an everlasting cushioning charm placed on it."
"What if I prefer to not wear clothes while flying, though, Hermione?" he says this with a brightness in his eye that I've never seen him have before.
I'm speechless—third time. Did he really just say that he liked to fly in the nude…to me?! I can feel my cheeks go from their normal color to bright red. My eyes are as wide as a house elves, I'm sure.
"I'm joking, Miss Granger," the amused smile appears. "I'll take a Gryffindor jersey. Got to admire that courage, right?"
I nod, trying to not picture him flying on a broom without any clothes on.
I lead him to the front and he picks out a jersey. "Do you need anything else?" I ask, hoping that he says he's done and that he'll go to see Lucius now to check-out.
He ignores my question, though, in true Harry Potter fashion and asks one of his own instead. "How's the article coming?"
He finally says something that I can talk about and not feel like my heart is coming out of my chest. "I'm not writing it, Mr. Potter. Miss Lovegood is the journalist, not me. But she's doing a great job. She says the information you gave might make her father make her a full journalist rather than just when he needs her to be. She wishes that she could have done the interview instead. I'm sure she would have got even better information if it had been her… The only thing she regrets is not getting a few pictures to go along with her article. She said that would have truly made it the best piece of work she's ever done."
"Does she have a photographer?"
I blink. Did he really just say that? I nod, my brain going on automatic. "Our friend Neville is an amazing artist. He's very creative. I'm sure he's got a camera around somewhere, too. He's going to be designing the Ministry statue once we've graduated."
"How does tomorrow sound, Miss Granger?" he asks, his voice going rough. Why? I wonder.
"Luna would be in her own world if this would happen, Mr. Potter. She'd love you forever."
He seemed to cringe at the word 'love' but nodded. "Just let me know. He's my personal floo password. When you call into the floo network you've got to say 'The Palace' and add in the password. Please don't lose this card, Miss Granger. I don't hand it out to just anyone."
My eyes go wide again as I stare at the card he just handed me. It simply said what he had just told me, to say 'The Palace' but there was no password on it. "There's no…"
He put his hand over mind, well, over the card, and whispered, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," and then moved his hand, revealing that the card did say the password 'Lily Flower' on it. "Mischief managed," he said, motioning to the card. I repeated his words and the password disappeared.
"Okay," I whispered, staring up into his eyes. No words were spoken for the next couple of moments until I hear my name being screamed by none other than Draco Malfoy. I look down the aisle and see him standing there, his arms loaded with brooms. I break my gaze with Potter and run over to help Draco. Potter follows behind me, almost glaring at Draco.
"Um… Mr. Potter, this is Draco Malfoy. Draco, this is Mr. Potter, the Minister of Magic," I say, awkwardly introducing them.
Draco nods. "My father's told me about you. Thank you for your help after the war," he says. "And thank you Hermione. Dad sort of just shoved these brooms at me and told me to go put them away because he couldn't find you."
I'm semi-relieved that Draco made his appearance when he did. The staring contest that the man I can literally feel standing behind me was getting very intense…almost more intense than the dreams that I have had about him.
"You did really well today by the way, Hermione. Most of the items that you led the customers to where actually what they wanted. I must be teaching you something around here, huh?" Draco said, truly meaning it. Draco's been very good to me since he graduated. When he was in school, he was a complete arse. But now that he's out of school, making a living for himself (even if it's off his father's store), he's matured. He's no longer going around making fun of me for being, well, me.
When Draco and I finally put the brooms down on my desk, Draco stuck out his hand to Potter and he shook it, almost harder than what would be considered a normal handshake. "Is there anything else I can do for you Mr. Potter? Hermione's great, but she's not much in to Quidditch. Every now and again the customers start talking Quidditch slang and she gets sort of lost… No offensive, Hermione. I just want to make sure that you've gotten everything that you need, Mr. Potter."
"Hermione was more than adequate help, Mr. Malfoy. She provided me with everything that I came in here looking for and answered many of my questions about the establishment," he said. He has on his formal face that I saw him using with his secretaries… But is words are saying something much more. He doesn't call me Hermione very much, except in a teasing matter. To be saying it to Draco instead of calling me Miss Granger? I shake my head. Men.
"Great. See you later, Hermione. Good day to you, Mr. Potter," Draco says with a nod and then he disappears off to finish more tasks.
I turn back to look at Potter and see the darkness that I saw earlier in his eyes. "Anything else, Mr. Potter, or should I take you to Lucius to have him ring you up?"
"Can you just do it back here at your desk, Miss Granger?" he asks. I give him a questioning look but nod my head and ring in his items.
"10 galleons, please, Mr. Potter. I'm sorry, but I don't have any sacks back here with me…"
"It's alright, Hermione," he says as he hands over the galleons. He's back to being all formal. It's like he's a completely different person now since Draco appeared. When his hand touches mine, it's like ice shoots through my veins. The way his eyes are staring so intently at me…his hand almost stroking the back of mind as he slides his hand back down to his side… It's so unnerving, so completely frustrating… "You'll floo me with the details if your friend agrees about the photo shoot tomorrow, correct?"
I nod, lost for words for Merlin doesn't even know how many times now all because of this man. He smiles again, going back to being the Potter than I've seen throughout the store for the last while.
"Good," he says and turns around to leave the store. He suddenly turns around to see me fanning myself from the heat I'm feeling from being around him. "And Miss Granger?" he asks.
"Hmm?"
"I'm glad that Miss Lovegood couldn't do the interview," and with that and another intense eye stare, he's walking out of QuidSups.
I like him. I say to myself. It's been bothering me and bothering me and I've been trying to deny it, but after today, I simply can't. The man has a hold over me that no one else has ever had. I bit my lip, finding my thoughts going down that dark path that Harry Potter seems to be able to lead my mind down. I need to hurry up and get inventory for the day done and get back up the castle to talk to Luna and Neville about organizing a photo shoot with Harry Potter.