A/N: this is an unedited version. There may be Grammar and some other bunch of errors.
This was supposed to be two chapters but then they'd be really short so I just joined them together, even if it is rather long. :)
Enjoy!
Chapter 7: Slytherins
Wow, this place is something, Theodore thought.
He looked around his new, and temporary, work place and can't help but feel impressed. While RGMC and St. Mungo's were technically the same in the sense that they are the only wizarding hospital in their respective countries, he thought that the former was much more sophisticated.
He approached the desk at the side of the very grand lounge. He said his name and when he was told to wait for a moment, he surveyed his surroundings. It was like a five-star hotel. The floor was made of wood colored marble, there was a chandelier holding candles that hung in the ceiling that very much illuminated the area. It's glass creating shiny reflections across the room. Across the information desk was a small area that appeared to be a waiting lounge. There was a big dark green sofa with two armchairs of the same color, underneath them was a very big carpet. A small, dark, wooden table sat in the middle that held newspapers and magazines, and different paintings hung on the walls. Obviously the area wasn't used often; maybe that was why it looked real damn good.
A floating stretcher carrying a man with two assistant-Healers passed him, and he saw that they were headed to the lifts in the left side of the luxurious waiting area. The group had come from the emergency room on the right side of the waiting area. He walked towards the room and leaned on the wall by the side of the glass doors. The emergency room was a blinding white. White walls with white bed covers and white curtains separating them. The Assistant-Healers and Emergency Healers wore light blue uniforms, a kind of shirt with pockets and pants, which make it easy and comfortable for them to move. Despite the number of people needing medical attention, the staff appeared calm and collected, even if the patient, and/or loved one, is going hysterical. He would see some muggle devices he'd heard of but had never seen one.
A clearing of the throat distracted his sight-seeing and he turned around to see who it was. A man wearing a suit and tie was stood behind him. The man looked more like a businessman than a Healer, Theo thought. He was the same height as Theo with brown hair and green eyes, with a bit of a tan. He looked to be around 40, with crinkles by his eyes. He wasn't muscular but the way he carried himself spoke of authority. The man smiled at him and held out a hand.
"Bienvenue au Royaume-guérisseurs Medical Center, Monsieur Nott. I am Philip Medine, the Hospital Administrator," the man said, in his thick French accent.
Theo shook his hand and said, "Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Medine. I look forward to working with your fine hospital."
Medine nodded in the direction of the emergency room.
"How do you find it?" he asked.
Theodore looked back at the bustling room and his eyes flew to the potions counter where he saw the almost empty potion cabinets, he smiled. He turned back around and said, "Ne peut pas attendre pour commencer (can't wait to start)."
They took the lift, which appeared small on the outside but surprisingly big on the inside, and Medine pushed the button for the fifth floor. They arrived at their destination and walked down the white tiled halls and he saw through the glass windows, the laboratories and facilities the hospital housed. I could really get used to working here, he thought.
He saw big metal things that he was sure were muggle and must run on what was it? elecity?
Medine must have seen him staring at the machines because he suddenly spoke up.
"Once this hospital was built near the wizarding town of France, however as time went by, muggles developed machines that have helped them in the detecting and curing of diseases. I was a Healer here when it was discussed that this hospital was to be moved to a muggle area where we can manage to use such machines and have them run on electricity. "
Ah, so it's elec-tri-city.
"The hospital was moved and the machines installed," Medine continued, "then we had doctors, the muggle equivalent of Healers, come and teach us how to operate and diagnose using them. "
Medine stopped and turned around to face Theo, before he continued.
"I was brought up like any other pureblood, thus I was strongly against having muggles and their big doohickeys into our world because it felt like they were invading our home." Medine looked toward a laboratory on their right and Theo followed suit. The laboratory was currently occupied by a patient that looked to be lying down on a stretcher inside the machine. Theo's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. Without either of them looking away, Medine said, "But this hospital has gone a long way in terms of healing people of ailments caused by magic and non-magic sources, and it's with the help of those muggles and their big doohickeys. "
Medine faced forward once again and walked on, Theo followed.
Hermione ran a hand through her already tousled hair. Madelyn, her patient, had gotten worse, despite what Hermione believed. The potion she had brewed herself had made her patient urinate blood, meaning that her kidney's had worsened. She had her team tests on her to the condition of her kidneys, and was waiting for her results.
She had been too pre-occupied that morning that she had completely forgotten to attend the seminar, and she was looking forward to it too. She sighed. She couldn't do anything about it now.
She saw her team approaching her office through the glass walls of her office. Her team, Marcus, Aime and Oliver, entered her office and Marcus handed her a folder that she was sure was the result of the test she told them to run.
"Tant chèque de baguette et de test ont confirmé l'évidence," (both wand check and test confirmed the obvious), Marcus said.
Hermione looked at the report. "I can see that."
"Peut-être il pourrait simplement être l'hépatite C? (Maybe it could just be hepatitis C?), Aime said.
"IL pourrait être un empoisonnement aux métaux qui cause son sang d'urine (it might be metal poisoning that's causing her to urine blood)," Oliver suggested.
"Metal poisoning could explain the short-term memory loss and vomiting. But the patient said she didn't drink any potion nor had any spells performed on her," Hermione reasoned.
"Madelyn n'a pas dit qu'elle et ses parents juste de rentrer de leurs vacances il ya deux jours?" (Didn't Madelyn say that she and her parents just got back from their vacation two days ago?) Marcus said.
"Cela pourrait expliquer pourquoi nous n'avons pas été en mesure de trouver quelque chose de mal à leur domicile," (That could explain why we weren't able to find anything wrong at their home.), Aime agreed.
"Ont vérifié son pour empoisonnement aux métaux lourds alords (have her checked for heavy metal poisoning then)," Hermione decided.
They all nodded and flocked out of her office. Once they were gone, Hermione heaved a mighty sigh. She checked her watch and saw that it was already 12:15, so she got up and got ready to head for her lunch break.
She decided to just eat in the cafeteria today so she could forget about stress but still be near for when she was needed by her team. She bought her lunch and grabbed a newspaper and settled in an available seat near the big, floor-to-ceiling windows. She had just finished reading a news article and half of her salad when she felt the chair from across her being pulled out. She looked up and saw a dark haired man taking a seat on her table. Once he had settled in, he looked up at her and smiled.
"May I sit?" he asked, and she was surprised to hear the British accent in his voice.
"Of course," Hermione answered, without actually thinking about it, because her brain was too pre-occupied with trying to re-call if he'd seen this man before.
He was tall, had pale skin and dark eyes that matched his dark hair. He was wearing a black suit, which really pronounced the almost deathly paleness of his skin, with a crisp white shirt and no tie. He too was reading a newspaper, the Daily Prophet, while casually sipping his black coffee.
"Excuse me, have we met before?" Hermione asked, she just couldn't get the nagging feeling that she'd seen him before.
He looked up from his reading, and his eyebrows rose at her, and what appeared to be a small smile tugging at his lips.
"Perhaps," was his reply and he returned back to his newspaper.
Hermione's eyebrows drew together and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Are you visiting a patient?" she tried instead.
"Nope," he replied, eyes still on what he was reading.
"Applying for a job?"
"Already have one," he turned a page.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"Doing my job."
At this Hermione's left eyebrow rose.
"I haven't seen you here before."
"Just started today,"
Hermione furrowed her brow. He must be the one who's the party is for, she thought.
"Welcome," she said not very welcome-y
"Thank you," he replied dryly.
Hermione sipped her juice before she continued her questioning.
"So, I'm guessing you're from Britain?" the brunette asked.
He's brows furrowed and was quiet for a moment, obviously concentrated on what he was reading that Hermione thought he wouldn't answer.
"We both know you didn't have to guess that one," he distractedly said.
Hermione was surprised at his answer, and it made her suspicion in him grow further. Of course she didn't have to guess about his nationality, anyone with half a brain would have noticed his accent. What made her suspicious was how he said it. He said it as if to mean two things.
"Really? How's that?" she asked, a little sharper than she thought.
He finally removed his eyes from his infernal newspaper and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Well, I think the accent is already a dead give-away, Granger," he said.
Hermione's eyes widened. She definitely knew him; she'd heard that voice say her name before. A light bulb was slowly flickering to life in her brain. She continued her questioning.
"It seems you already know me, but I don't know you. Isn't it common decency to introduce oneself when talking to a person who doesn't know him?" she said, the frustration adding an edge to her rant.
The man before her chuckled.
"Oh, you know me, Granger, you just can't remember," he said, looking her in the eye. He then picked up his cup of coffee and sipped from it, all the while never breaking their eye contact.
Those dark eyes were really familiar. Dark, measuring and contemplative but passive. She's seen those bloody dark orbs of his before.
Then an image flashed in her head. The Great Hall. The Slytherin table. The boy who always sat with the blond Ferret.
The light bulb flashed bright.
Hermione's eyes widened and she was about to say his sodding name when someone approached their table.
"N'est-ce pas une coincidence (isn't this a coincidence)," Philip, her boss, said while holding a tray that held his undoubtedly held his lunch. Philip turned to her.
"Healer Granger, I see you've already met our guest," he said, motioning to the dark-haired man who was smirking annoyingly.
"Guest?" Hermione managed, thankfully, without stuttering. She refused to show any signs that this man's presence disturbed her. She was a Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake!
"Yes, he was the guest speaker we invited to conduct the seminar this morning. Did you not attend?" her superior asked.
"No, I was….pre-occupied," she answered.
"Well, in any case, Mr. Nott here will be working with us for a while. He will be teaching new concoctions to our potion-makers. I was hoping to introduce you to him as well, since you, too, brew some potions for your patients. I was hoping you could work together," he said, in a voice that said "hoping" meant "expecting", meaning she had to work with him, whether she wanted to or not.
Hermione gave her boss a forced smile, and pushed the words, "I look forward to it, sir," through her gritted teeth.
He gave her a smile and nodded at Nott and left them.
The instant his back was turned, she willed her glare to bore holes at the man in front of her who was still smirking annoyingly at her. Like an opponent gloating over a victory.
Suddenly, another person approached her table.
"Hermione!" a deep, masculine voice called her and scooped her hand and placed a kiss upon it.
Great now this guy.
"Bonjour Etienne. Comment allez-vous? (Hello Etienne. How are you?)" Hermione said, trying hard to be polite when all she wanted to do was wipe her hand clean of any trace of the burly man's kiss.
"Je suis grand, (I am great)," then Etienne's eye's flickered toward Hermione's unfortunate company.
"Qui est-il, Hermione? (Who is he, Hermione?)" He asked, jealousy and possessiveness coloring his voice, which infuriated Hermione. Who does he think he is? They weren't even friends!
"This is a friend, (yeah, right), of mine. Etienne, this is Theodore Nott. Nott— Etienne," she said by way of introduction.
Nott stood up and held out his hand, like a good-mannered gentleman she was sure he was raised to be. Etienne raised an eyebrow at Nott's offered hand and pointedly ignored it, like the rude caveman that she was positive he was.
Nott frowned at the rudeness that was shown to him but didn't make a fuss out of it and sat back down. Hermione wanted to smile at his displeasure but didn't think it was appropriate. The prat did have that one coming for being a real nuisance to her.
"IL est la date que vous me, Hermione dit? (Is he the date you told me of, Hermione?)" he said, turning to her.
Hermione was caught off guard by the question.
"Date?" she asked.
"Oui, date de nuit de demain (yes, date for tomorrow night)," Etienne confirmed.
Hermione was about to answer, "Merlin, no!" when Nott answered for her.
"Oui, I am" he answered coolly.
Hermione stared wide eyed at him while Etienne stared at him with enough malice to make a man cower.
Etienne cleared his throat and composed himself. "Je vois, eh bien je dois y aller maintenant, je dois me préparer pour mes rendez-vous. (I see, well I must be going now, I have to prepare for my appointments)"
And with that he turned on his designer shoes and walked away, which faintly reminded Hermione of huffing rejected woman.
She heard the chair opposite her lightly scrape the floor and turned her attention to it. Nott was standing up, preparing to leave.
"This was a most entertaining lunch, Healer Granger, I must say we must do it again. Unfortunately, I must leave for I too have an appointment to make. Good day, Granger. See you soon," he said, with a mischievous glint in his eye.
Hermione stared at his retreating back, confusion, anger and nervousness all battling to dominate her. Then her eyes went to the cup of black coffee his companion left behind, his last three words still fresh in her mind, see you soon. She placed her elbows on the table and cradled her head in her hands. What just happened?
Note to self hire French architect for my new shop, Theo thought to himself as he walked through the halls of Belhemeur and Associates, looking for the office door that has his best mate's name on it, and so far he was enjoying looking for it. He had never been to his friend's office, and he was glad he finally decided to visit. The design of the office was amazing. Carpeted floor with marble pillars, deep green colored walls that spoke of professionalism, and views on office windows that could take your breath away.
He found his destination and gave a low whistle. Draco's office was huge. Like huge huge. Because the office door and walls were made of glass, again, he could easily see the sitting area with its black leathered sofa and matching arm chair and small glass table. He could also see Draco's desk and the amazing view behind it, the bookshelves that covered one entire wall and even his own fireplace. Damn, Draco was one lucky bastard. He was walking to go and wait inside Draco's office when a voice stopped him.
"You can't go in there," a sexy feminine voice said.
He turned around and raised an eyebrow at the blond who was seated in a chair with her back toward him.
"And why not?" he asked.
The blond turned to him and matter-of-factly said, "Because I say so."
Damn, Draco is one lucky bastard indeed, he thought.
He was staring at the gorgeous blond who wore a blue body hugging v-neck dress that ended just above the knee, showing off some seriously mile long legs.
"Could you please put your hand underneath your chin?" she asked.
He bade then asked, "Why?"
"I don't like the smell of drool near my work space," she said, then gave him a sweet smile and turned back to her papers.
Theodore chuckled and leaned on the blond's cubicle.
"I assume a lady of your stature should know that it is common decency to introduce oneself when speaking to a person that doesn't know her," he said, eyeing her curiously. He held out a hand toward her. "Theodore Nott, friend of Mr. Malfoy."
She stood up and shook his hand. "I'm Dominique and I already know who you are."
"Just Dominique?"
"It's kind of like a name and a title rolled into one."
"Interesting. And how did you know who I was?"
"I know anything and everything going on in this building."
"How's that?"
"You know, I don't like to repeat myself. Like I said, I'm Dominique."
He gave her a real charmer smile that was both amused and intrigued.
"You know you can't charm your way into Draco's office."
"I'm not charming my way into Draco's office."
"Then what were you doing?"
"Thinking of a good French restaurant for lunch and dinner for two."
"Already had lunch."
"For two men."
She tsk'd and said, "I don't think Draco swings that way."
"Dinner's not for him."
"Already have plans."
"We can always have desert afterwards," he said and smiled suggestively at her.
She was about to answer back with her sexy mouth when Draco arrived.
"Dom, I need all the files we have on the SOS Children's Village on my desk before six," then he turned to Theo, "I don't have time for lunch, I'm busy."
Theo's brow furrowed. He looked at Dominique then back to Draco and then realization dawned on him.
"Did you just—?"
"Uhuh," she said, nodding.
"Oh you're good," then he went behind her chair and bent to whisper in her ear, "but you're going to find out that I'm better."
She turned her chair to face him, with her left brow raised, and said, "We'll see," and then she turned back to her work.
"I like her," Theo said as he sat down in one of the chairs in front of Draco's desk. "Where did you manage to snag a feisty like her?"
"You know there's a possibility that she's listening to our conversation right now. More than a possibility," Draco retorted.
"Maybe I shouldn't talk to you about my plot on how to fuck your pretty little secretary's brains out," he loudly declared, and he could have sworn he saw her stiffen a bit outside. "In the meantime, lunch?"
"Like I said, I'm busy," Draco said as he sat down and went through the files on his desk.
"Would you still be busy if I said that I talked to Granger today?" he said and watched carefully as the movement of Draco's hands stilled for a moment. He smirked. Gotcha.
"And that concerns me why?" Draco said as he seemed to have found the paper he was looking for.
"Just thought you'd be interested in what we talked about and of our future meetings," Theo said, wording his thoughts perfectly to catch his friend's oh-so-obvious intrigue about the Bookworm.
Draco finally looked at him and raised a blond eyebrow. "Again, that concerns me why?"
"Your right, you shouldn't be concerned about her, or about anything I found out when we talked or about what I might find out in our future meetings." Theo sighed dramatically, got up and turned toward the door. He pulled it open but turned back to his friend, "Accompany a tourist friend to lunch then?"
Draco continued his reading. "You've been to France before and you can speak perfect French," he looked at him and gave him a too sweet smile, "You'll feel right at home."
Theo sighed dramatically again before finally exiting Draco's office.
"Looks like your lunch for two just turned solo," Dominique turned her chair to face him.
"You want proof that I'm better?" He walked toward her and placed his hands on the arms of her chair. He leaned in close until their noses almost touched but she didn't flinch nor blink. Theo smirked. "Count to ten and you'll hear him say he's going out for lunch," he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, "then, Beautiful, you and I will be having dinner tonight."
He walked away and sure enough after ten seconds his prediction came true.
*The Next Day*
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
The scream had Hermione running through her office door and frantically searching her waiting area, looking for the source. She looked at her receptionist who was seated behind her desk and had her back turned to Hermione. Hermione approached the young girl and turned her around. Hermione gasped. Madison was holding a parchment in her hands and she looked like she had seen a Dementor, absolute horror written all over her face.
"Madi? What happened? Are you ok?" Hermione asked, panic coloring her voice.
Her unfocused eyes found Hermione's and she mumbled something incoherent.
"What? Madi, what's wrong?" Hermione asked again.
"They cancelled," Madi said lifelessly.
"What? Who cancelled? What cancelled? What's wrong?" Hermione asked, trying hard not to get mad about being redundant.
"Salon de Mystique, they cancelled my appointment," she said in the same flat tone.
Hermione's eyes widened.
"What?!" Hermione half-screamed.
"I know! They can't do this to me! I've been a loyal patron of that salon, and I've booked my appointment three days ago! They just can't cancel on me last minute like that! You know what? I'm talking to their manager," Madi ranted, fury and determination flaring in her once dull eyes. She conjured her Patronus and instructed upon it her very strongly worded complaint, then conjured a second one to contact her final hope. As soon as she was done, she turned to the still and seemingly not breathing Healer before her.
"Hey, Doc? Are you ok?" Madi asked.
That seemed to have snapped her out of it because the murderous look replaced the blank one in record time.
"Merlin Almighty! You almost gave me a heart attack because your hair appointment got cancelled?!" Hermione exploded.
"Hair and make-up," Madi corrected, wagging a finger. "My hair has been very unruly lately and my skin has been rather dull. I won't have the energy to battle my growing beauty problems and still have enough energy to have fun at the party."
Hermione stared at the young girl who was very oblivious to the serious heart problem she nearly gave her boss. Hermione shook her head. Madison reminded her of her fellow classmates back at Hogwarts who thought that their physical appearance was the most important thing in the world, and missing a salon appointment meant the end of the universe. Hermione sighed. These girls were such….girls!
Hermione was about to enter her office when the door to her clinic opened, and in entered Narcissa Malfoy.
Madison jumped up and the two hugged like they haven't seen each other for a thousand years.
"Oh, it's horrible!" Madi cried as she pulled away, "Salon de Mystique cancelled my appointment and the party is just a few hours away! Anton will be at the party and I can't be anything less than perfect for him!"
"Oh, I know, Darling, I know. Don't worry, I'm here and I will make you irresistible to Anton," Narcissa answered soothingly.
Hermione shook her head at the display before her; it was like the Yule ball all over again! She entered her office to leave the two to bond with their hair tamers and face chemicals.
Hermione arrived at the hospital after securing that Sophie was fine and well staying with her Aunt Emily. She entered her clinic and saw Narcissa looking proudly at a stunning Madison. Hermione gasped. It was like seeing her young, quirky receptionist in a whole new, different way.
Madison wore an exquisite black lace tube gown that hugged her petite form and matching black four inch heels that added height to her small boned body. Her lips were painted a vibrant shade of red, her cheeks had a rosy pink ting and her eyes were colored a shade of silver and a tad of black giving her green eyes that smoky eye effect Madison once showed her. Her raven colored hair had been swept up in a messy bun held together by pins that had little stones in them that sparkled when hit by the light.
Madison looked like a model from one of those magazines the young witch always had her nose in. Briefly Hermione thought if she should get her nose buried in them as well.
"I look beautiful don't I?" Madison's voice took Hermione out of her thought. Hermione approached Madison, she couldn't help but not think of her as Madi, her receptionist, as she looked at her from head to toe once more.
"Beautiful?" Hermione began, "You look amazing!"
Madison giggled and was about to give Hermione a big hug when Narcissa put her arm between them.
"No hugging," Narcissa firmly stated. "It might ruin our masterpiece!"
Both women laughed at Narcissa's statement but complied.
"Why aren't you ready yet Hermione? The party will start in an hour," Madison reminded.
Hermione held up the gown bag that she was carrying. She was about to enter her office to change when someone suddenly held her arm. It was Narcissa who held her back.
"Who is going to do your hair?" Narcissa asked, her bluish-grey eyes round with question.
"Who's going to do your make-up?" Madison demanded, her green orbs as big as Narcissa's.
"I, uh, I was just going to put my hair in a, um, bun and maybe put on some lipstick," she stammered, the inquisitive looks they were giving her were making her nervous.
The two looked at women looked at each other and gave Hermione a smile like that of the Cheshire cat. This was not good. Hermione gulped. Judging by the excited gleam in their eyes, this was most certainly not good.
Hermione tried to get her arm from the elder witch but her firm grip on Hermione's arm made it hard to get away. She was about to make a mad dash for the door when Narcissa said something that made Hermione's heart stop.
"Madison? Would you like to help Hermione get ready, dear?" Narcissa said, the sweetness dripping like honey from her voice.
Oh no.
"Why I would most certainly love to!" Madison exclaimed.
NO!
Hermione nervously chuckled.
"No, you don't have to. I'll be fine. You wouldn't want all of your hard work preparing Madison go to waste, would you?" Hermione said, but the two were already advancing toward her like a predator cornering its prey, hair brushes and make up kits in hand.
"Don't worry, Hermione, everything will be alright," Narcissa said as they entered Hermione's office and closed the door to her freedom.
NOOOOOO!
Hermione stared at her reflection in the mirror. Wow, was all that she could say. It was just like earlier when she saw Madison. It was Hermione, but a different Hermione.
She was wearing the same bronze colored, lacy dress that she had once worn to another welcome party. Madison was going shopping the day before the party and Hermione had asked Madison to buy her a dress as well. She had been too busy that week that she had completely forgotten all about it. Madison had chosen it and the dress said it loud and clear. But this was Hermione's favorite dress.
It's see through lace sleeves reached just above her elbow and were decorated with sequences that looked like vines hugging her arms. The see through lace held a necklace like design that adorned her neck, but it did not really cover her chest because it showed the top of her breasts. The back of the dress was open and ended in the middle of her back. The dress hugged her body just right; its crisscrossing pattern ending at her thigh and opening to a flowing fabric that ended just short of the floor. She paired the dress with a simple pair of three inch bronze colored shoes.
They sprayed the Sleekeazy's Hair Potion on Hermione's hair to tame her wild curls. Half of her hair was pulled back from her face and held together with a French double comb. It had a lacy beads design that went well with her dress. The rest of her hair flowed freely, covering her open back. They put on a light smudge of gold make up on her eyes, a light pink to her cheeks and pale pink lipstick to her lips.
It was sexy but sophisticated.
It was Hermione, but a different Hermione.
She looked at the background of her reflection and saw a smirking Madison and a proud Narcissa. She turned around and smiled at them. Narcissa gasped and went to hug Hermione but Madison firmly put her hands on Narcissa's arms and pulled her back.
Madison tutted and said, "We must not ruin our art! We must restrain our emotions."
She looked at Hermione and said, "But Great Merlin! You are beautiful!"
Hermione laughed a little and turned to look at her reflection once more. She did indeed. It was the Yule Ball all over again!
Madison gasped. "Were late!"
She grabbed Hermione's arm and almost dragged her out of her office.
"Merci, Narcissa! I'll tell you all about it later!" Madison called over her shoulder.
Narcissa waved and wished them a good time.
By the time they had arrived, the party had already started.
The once conference room expanded and was now filled with many beautifully dressed people.
The two women maneuvered their way toward the food table and had themselves some served champagne.
"Wow, this guest must be really special. This is like one of those A-list parties!" Madison gushed. Hermione nodded and looked around the room. The room was dim but small floating lights here and there provided some illumination. The tables were covered with white table cloths and had a small light orb inside a glass in the middle of each of them. The tall windows were open to let in the crisp evening air.
Hermione noticed a man coming toward them. She lightly nudged Madison and nodded her head toward her assistant's date, Andrew. She saw Madison blushed a deep pink, despite the make-up.
"Good evening, ladies," Andrew said when he arrived.
"Good evening, good-looking," Madison teased, and Hermione nodded her greeting.
"You don't look too bad yourself, Mad," he answered with a laugh.
Hermione noticed that the two wanted to be alone and so excused herself. She moved to the front of the room, near the stage. The stage was properly lighted with more light orbs that shone brightly. There was a banner on the wall of the stage that said, "WELCOME!" in bold letters.
She moved to the nearest window and looked out into the back garden of the Hospital. The moon was hidden behind wisps of clouds, with stars dotting the vast night sky.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?" said a voice behind her.
Hermione turned around to see that it was her supposed date.
Theodore Nott went to stand on the opposite side of the window. He wore a tux that complimented him very well. He gazed out of the window and at the back garden of the hospital that was bathed in moonlight.
"Such a waste to be in here when we don't have to be," he said and gave a dramatic sigh.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "You're right, we have to be here but you don't have to be."
"I know," was all he said.
She was about to call him out in his reason of being at the party when a loud voice sounded throughout the room. She looked to the stage and sure enough their director stood there, using his wand to amplify his voice, and saying that everyone be settled down. Hermione was about to go the front of the room, where Healers were seated, but was held back by a hand on her elbow. She looked up and saw that the hand belonged to Nott.
"What?" she questioned.
"I want to sit in the back," he said as if it explained everything.
"Then go sit in the back. I'm sitting in front," she answered and was about to go but his hand didn't budge.
"You're my date, aren't you?" Nott said.
Hermione merely raised an eyebrow. She had thought that he had only said that to piss Etienne off, apparently she was wrong.
"Besides, you don't want to sit in front," he said and started to drag her with him to the back of the room, near the exit.
"And why is that?" she questioned. How dare he think that he knew what she did or did not want?
"You'll see. Besides, do you really want to sit with Mr. Big-Mouth Caveman over there?" he said, slanting his head in Etienne's direction.
Hermione really didn't have an answer for that one, because she knew that it was better to sit with Nott than Etienne. Heck, Crookshanks on a bad day would have still been better that Etienne. She gave a small sigh. Even though Crookshanks has been gone for almost four years, she still missed her feline companion. The sudden stop jolted Hermione from her thoughts. She was now standing in front of a table filled with, if she wasn't mistaken, a group of new interns. All four of them looked up at the two of them. She turned to tell Nott that they should find another table. However, the raised eyebrow that her date gave the young interns made her pause. She turned to look at the interns, and it seemed that she wasn't the only one affected by this simple gesture. The two male occupants narrowed their eyes at Nott but ushered their two speechless dates out of the table. Hermione's eyes widened, surprised by the reaction such a simple eyebrow raise could achieve. Her date sat down without even bothering to pull out a chair for her. Hermione sat down and narrowed her eyes at him.
"You shouldn't have made them leave. There are other vacant tables we could have taken," she chastised him.
"But I wanted this one," he answered.
"You don't always get what you want, you know," Hermione said.
After she was met by silence, she said, "How did you do that?"
She couldn't help but ask.
Nott merely smirked at her. He waved over a waiter and ordered himself a Firewhisky.
Hermione glared at him then turned her attention to the stage.
"We are gathered here today to welcome a new member in our family. He is a handsome, young business man that has invested quiet an amount in our hospital and an even greater amount of trust in us. We must show him that he has nothing to worry about. Isn't that right, Healers?" the Hospital Administrator said. The whole room rang with applause.
"Now, without further ado, I present to you our new member, and your new boss, Mr. Blaise Zabini, with his lovely girlfriend, Ms. Pansy Parkinson."
Zabini entered the stage with Parkinson hooked on his arm, both smiling elegantly at the crowd.
Hermione almost choked on the champagne she was drinking. Zabini? Parkinson?!
Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. She closed her eyes and prayed to any higher power that this was just a dream and that the two former Slytherins were not really there on the stage. She opened her eyes but the couple stayed as they were, very real and very there.
She then turned accusing eyes to another former Slytherin, Nott.
"You knew about this, didn't you?" she hissed.
Nott turned lazy eyes toward her and nodded his head. "As a matter of fact, I told them to invest here."
"What?!" Hermione whisper screamed.
"However, what I didn't know was that you would be here," he continued.
She glared at Nott but he didn't even flinch.
"Thank you, Thank you," a voice said and Hermione turned her head toward the stage once more.
Hopefully they wouldn't know that she was here. After their speech, she could just slip out and go home.
"Thank you very much for this heart-warming welcome. To be honest, it was a friend of mine who told me about the high quality of your hospital. I think he is here right now. Where are you, Theodore?" Zabini called out.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Nott stand up. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the small ball of light floating directly above him. The small ball of light brightened, creating a spot light for him.
"Welcome to Royaume-guérisseurs Medical Center, Blaise," Nott said.
All eyes turned to where he and Hermione sat, and a round of applause rang in the room once more. At that moment, all Hermione wanted to do was run away. It was stupid because the attention wasn't even directed at her but everyone, Zabini and Parkinson included, was currently looking in their direction. She glanced up at the stage and saw that the couple narrowed their eyes, not at their friend but, at her. Almost immediately, recognition flashed on Parkinson's face and she shared a look with her boyfriend. Hermione was having a small panic attack. They shouldn't have seen her. She had to get out of there.
"Thank you, my friend," she heard Zabini say.
All attention turned back to the stage and she was finally able to calm down and even out her breathing. In. Out. In. Out.
"I feel very much welcomed and I also look forward being your new boss, so, you better watch out." Zabini chuckled and held up his glass of champagne. "To the future of Royaume-guérisseurs Medical Center!"
Everyone cheered. The couple went down the stage and was headed this way. Fortunately, they were stopped by a few Healers greeting and shaking their hands. Hermione took this chance and stood up to head for the door. She was just standing up when she felt a tug on her dress. She kept pulling at the end of her dress to make it loose and then she heard the unmistakable tear of fabric. She pulled at the fabric and saw quiet a portion had been ripped. She internally whimpered. She really liked this dress. She turned toward the exit when she suddenly bumped into someone. She mumbled an apology and tried to side-step the person, only to have him follow and block her path again. She looked up and saw that Nott blocked her way. She glared at him.
"Oops," he said.
She glared at him and willed her stare to burn him to ashes. No luck. She side-stepped him again and was able to finally get past him. She was just a few steps away from the door when a hand on her elbow stopped her. She was so ready to punch this person, however, when she turned around, she couldn't. Because it was her boss.
"Ms. Granger! Leaving already?" Philip said smiling, completely oblivious to the distress she felt.
"Uh, yes, I'm sorry but I have to leave. I, um, I have to get back to Sophie," she stammered. She chastised herself for using her daughter but desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Oh, well, this won't take long. I just want to introduce you to our new investor," he said as he pulled Hermione away from the door and into hell, in the form of schoolmates from her past.
"I don't think that would be necessary, Philip. I heard who they were, no need for introductions," Hermione said desperately.
"Nonsense!" Philip said as they neared them. Hermione forced her expression to be polite and stoic, not panicky and not on the verge of crying.
"Ms. Granger, This is Mr. Blaise Zabini and Ms. Pansy Parkinson. Mr. Zabini, Ms. Parkinson, this is the head of our Diagnostics Department, Ms. Hermione Granger," Philip introduced.
Hermione forced herself to look hell in the face, which was currently showing intrigue; exactly what she was afraid of. She gave a small closed lip smile.
"Wonderful to meet you, Ms. Granger." Zabini held out his hand.
Hermione forced her trembling hand to steady and shook his hand. "Likewise, Mr. Zabini."
"Please call me Blaise," he said with a smile, amusement dancing in his dark brown orbs. "This is my girlfriend, Pansy."
Hermione looked her eyes over to Parkinson and held out her hand. Her boss was her only reason to be polite to pug-faced Slytherin. Parkinson's eyes went to Hermione's hand then back to her face, with a raised eyebrow. After an eternity, she finally shook Hermione's hand but didn't say anything.
Philip excused himself and the former schoolmates were left alone.
Hermione stood there with her head held high, challenging the Slytherins to question and taunt her. She knew it was childish and paranoid of her to think that they would still taunt her with stupid names but seeing their faces again, especially Parkinson, brought back memories of humiliation during their time in Hogwarts.
"What a surprise seeing you here, Granger," Zabini began.
"I could say the same to you, Blaise," Hermione returned.
Zabini chuckled. "Well, like I said, Theo here was the one that convinced me to come here."
She turned and to glared at Nott.
"But I must say, you look well, Hermione," Zabini said with a smirk.
Hermione raised an eyebrow at the dark Slytherin. "Thank you."
"Where did you get that dress?" a female voice asked.
"What?" Hermione had forgotten about Parkinson.
"Where did you buy that dress?" Parkinson said slowly, as if she was speaking to a child.
Hermione's brows furrowed. She wasn't expecting that.
"My receptionist bought it for me, from a muggle store," she said carefully, bracing herself for the insults of how ugly it looked and how cheap it was. This was not cheap! It cost her a pretty penny. Then she remembered the stupid rip she had caused it in an attempt to escape.
"You look nice," Parkinson said almost begrudgingly.
Hermione blinked twice. Woah, of all the things she was preparing herself for, and that compliment was certainly not one of them. Then subconsciously made a note to bring Madison whenever she went clothes shopping.
"Uhm, Thank you, you look nice too," Hermione answered lamely but it was true. Parkinson looked more than nice actually. Parkinson wore a beige low cut halter dress with black ribbon like design with sequences on them. There were two straps that held the front secure just below her breast, near the end of the cut. There were also crisscrossing sequences that started at the end of the cut in the front of the dress and ended in the lacy fabric of the gown. She looked beautiful. But she didn't need to know that.
"Yes, I quiet agree, you do look nice, Hermione," Zabini said.
Ok, this is getting weirder by the minute. Slytherins and compliments do not match up; especially when they're the ones giving it to muggle-borns and non-Slytherins.
She was about to do the polite thing and say thank you again when she heard Nott sigh, loudly.
"I think that's enough. I think we've established that everyone here looks nice. But I think I've reached my socializing limit," Nott said and held Hermione's arm. "Good night, friends."
Effortlessly, Nott led Hermione out of the room and into the hospital halls. Hermione was still reeling about what had just happened. She thought she must have been dreaming because she doesn't get complimented by Slytherins. Most certainly a dream because Slytherins don't compliment, unless their complementing themselves. She pinched her arm and winced. Maybe it wasn't a dream, a hallucination then? She had only had one champagne glass but she was never really tolerant with alcohol. As she was thinking of a way of to prove herself that she was hallucinating, she found herself in the cafeteria.
Nott guided her to the table they had occupied the day before, near the windows. It was almost nine and the cafeteria was completely empty. She sat down and remembered the reason why she hated wearing high heeled shoes. She plucked of her shoes and rotated her aching feet. Sweet relief. She heard tinkling classes and saw that not was walking toward her with two glasses and a wine bottle. He set the glasses down and filled them both halfway. He slid one toward her and took the other one and settled one chair opposite her. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him but took the glass and sipped. She was already having champagne-induced hallucinations, what could a few wine-induced ones do?
She stared out of the window. Such a peaceful night.
"What are you doing here, Granger?" she heard Nott ask.
She turned to look at him. "I don't know, you brought me here. What am I doing here, Nott?"
"You're here to talk," he said.
"Yeah? About what?" she answered and took another sip of wine.
"What are you doing here in France, Granger?"
She was quiet for a while and then, "I live here."
"Why'd you leave Britain?"
"Why did you leave Britain?
"Temporary. What are you doing here in France?"
"I've always wanted to go to France."
"You're alone?"
Irritated, Hermione glared at him. "What's with all the question Nott? Just because you give me some wine, you can question me?"
She picked up her shoes and stood up. She walked past him but his voice stopped her. Not so much his voice but his words.
"Who's Sophie?" Nott asked.
Hermione stopped breathing and her heart skipped a beat then started beating fast and hard. How could he know?
She felt the weight of his stare at the back of her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Who's Sophie, Granger?" he asked again.
Hermione felt her skin go cold. He can't know. No one can know. She felt her eyes sting and tears beginning to form but willed her voice to stay steady and firm. "I don't know what you're talking about." She paused then added, "Stay away from me, Nott."
With that she walked away. Chin held high. Tears falling down her cheeks.
A/N: I'm not very good description so here are the links for the women's dresses.
Madison's Dress: . /imgres?sa=X&espv=210&es_sm=93&biw=1280&bih=676&tbm=isch&tbnid=NfajQiDqCZi-xM:&imgrefurl= . &docid=EHIpzD1Tt3KynM&imgurl= lghttp. 807884/magento/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/b/l/black_lace_evening_gowns_by_la_femme_1_ &w=800&h=1600&ei=56ePUobcB8i4iQfizoHABA&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:16,s:0,i:134&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=185&tbnw=91&start=0&ndsp=17&tx=29&ty=62
Hermione's Dress: bridal-dresses/bridal-gowns/latest-evening-gown-designs-2013-for-brides/attachment/latest-evening-gown-designs-2013-for-brides-0013/
Pansy's Dress: .
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