A/N: Big thank you to everyone who is still on board. I know this is very slow burn but things are about to pick up. Without further ado...
CHAPTER 7: No
This couldn't be happening, surely not.
It had to be a dream.
The sharp sting of the pinch on her thigh proved otherwise and brought forth the realization that indeed, this was happening, this was real, as real as the wall she was leaning against.
Her body was still peach red from the mortification that occurred not two minutes ago. Fuck. How could she be so careless? Even if it was John waiting on the other side of the door there was still no excuse as to why she answered the door naked with her cunt covered in dried chocolate. God, the vision she must have presented, and from the deep blush on both their faces she knew they'd seen it.
She didn't care about Ron; he'd seen it all before and once you've had someone's fingers plunging in your cunt while you're slobbering all over their cock all sense of propriety flies right out the proverbial window. Granted, it was 15 years ago and happened only once but still, the principle remains the same. Once the tension breaks it doesn't matter, unless of course, the tension resurfaces and in Ron's case, that's never going to happen.
But Harry...now that was a different story all together. Her mind snapped back to their last interaction a decade ago and she immediately shut it away. There will come a time, later, when her nerves are settled, her mind isn't a jumbled mess of disordered thoughts, and she isn't hiding in her closet to put off the inevitable, then, she will take a deep dive inside herself for the answers as to why her heartbeat is thumping so erratically at the moment, why did she forget to breathe the moment their eyes met, why time decided to take a break and came to an abrupt halt when that happened, but most importantly, the thought that she knew was going to give her sleepless nights because there was no practical answer to it and that irked her to no end, set her teeth on edge and made her want to punch a hole in the wall.
Why now, in all the time between them last seeing each other, why did they meet now when for the past couple of months she had been reliving that night 15 years ago. It seemed like fate's weird way of mocking her for her complete disregard and often diminishing remarks against the practice of Divination.
She took a big, deep breath and pulled herself away from the wall. Enough stalling, she was not the sort to turn her back in the face of a challenge and make no mistake, this was a challenge. By showing up at her door Harry had taken the first step, she had no idea of his reasons and intentions but regardless of how the events may turn out she wasn't going to back away. She was going to meet him head on and show him that the Gryffindor spirit still lived inside her.
Tapping her right thigh twice and whispering, "I'm Hermione Granger", she walked out of the closet and on her way out of the room took a brief glance at the full-length mirror – blue checkered pajama suit, good enough, and more importantly, appropriate – before making her way into the corridor.
She walked crisply and before her nerves could point her back towards her room, she rounded the corner and stepped into the living room.
Both men turned their heads toward her. A light blush formed over her cheeks as she caught the relief in their eyes as their gazes trailed down her form. Morons, what did they think that she had turned into a nudist, that she liked prancing around naked. Bloody idiots.
Ignoring their stares, she walked over to the sofa and sat down. Ron was sitting on the curve of the sofa whereas Harry had taken the leather armchair.
Nobody spoke for a while. Harry was staring at his hands nestled in his lap while Ron appeared to be deeply engrossed in his nails, both their faces deep red.
A powerful wave of nostalgia burst through her heart as the scene before her transported her back in time to a similar moment – All three were sitting in the common room after the celebrations had ended and everyone had gone back to their dorms. Harry was staring down at the golden egg resting in his lap, Ron was nervously rubbing his hands as he kept sneaking glances at Harry, and she was about her wits end with the pair of them acting like kids.
Some things never change, she mused, and it seemed once again it had to be her to break the silence or else they'd all be sitting here all day.
She cleared her throat – a very poor attempt- and gained their attention. Both sets of heads whipped towards her at a breakneck speed, and she would've laughed if not for the tension surrounding her and Harry. It was so thick a knife would carve it smoother than butter.
She'd never felt this level of uneasiness with him before, not even during their most explosive fights as seldom as they had been.
The energy radiating off him made her want to crawl under her bed or capture it in a bottle and throw it off the balcony and watch it shatter into million pieces. It unnerved her and she hated it.
"So..." she began, switching her gaze between the men. "This is quite a surprise" she accompanied a forced chuckle to lighten the tension.
It didn't work.
At least not towards the person it was directed at.
However, it snapped Ron back to his default setting and he was off.
The redhead shifted in his seat till he was facing her, one leg curled under the other as he leaned forward with a beaming smile on his face that she didn't notice as she was busy glaring at his dirty shoe on her sofa. He must've noticed because he quickly dropped it back to the floor.
"Well, last minute plans actually, for me that is. Harry was making the trip, so I forced myself into it." He finished with a cheeky grin at the green-eyed wizard whose lips tugged in a soft smile. "It's his first time visiting the states, so I figured he could use company, someone to show him around, you know. Plus, I thought I could start the hunt for a property for the new branch in Salem and maybe if I'm lucky, sign the lease."
She nodded. "That's what I was wondering because when you last visited – what was it, less than two months ago?"
"Yeah"
"I remember you telling me that you would come back in July next year for the five-year anniversary of the branch at Flinburg."
"Yeah, that was the original plan. But plans change, right" he chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.
She knew he was hiding something, the tightness in his jaw gave way but regardless, she offered a smile and kept her lips sealed, for now.
"Like I said, it's Harry's first time and you know how he hates all the scrutiny wherever he goes, and his work trip demanded going into MACUSA, and that just had disaster written all over it. Could you imagine?" He scoffed. "Harry walking into the building – they would've been all over him like a hippogriff. Remember how the first 2 years after the war the poor bloke used to get monthly owls from by the president of MACUSA at the time. The bastard wanted to exploit Harry's popularity to save his own political career." A look of disgust formed over his face. He shook his head. "Anyway, I told Harry I'll be his chaperone and he is damn well lucky I came" he threw a mock glare at the wizard before snapping his gaze back to Hermione. "Because guess what, even I'm not immune to being hounded by your lot. It was alright until I stepped into your den. 5 bloody seconds – yes, I counted, don't ask me how or why – that's how long it took them to corner me into a wall."
"Wait, back up a little" she held up her hands. "You went into my department?"
"Yeah, but it was all for nothing cause of course today is the day you were not in office. Your receptionist told me that you were going out of town for a few days and that you'd probably left by now and when I asked her where she wouldn't tell me – stupid bint – anyway, I wasn't giving up that easily so as a last-ditch hope we came here and luckily for us, you were still here and by the looks of it seemed weren't leaving anytime soon"
"Shut up, Ron"
"Sorry, couldn't resist"
"I still don't why you went to my department in the first place and what does this have to do with Harry's work"
"I think it's better if I explain it" Harry's soft timbre filtered round them for the first time, and she hadn't realized just how much she'd missed hearing his voice. "Ron" Harry jerked his head to the side, the direction pointing towards the hallway that led to the main door.
"Right" She frowned as Ron stood up and with a passing comment of "I'll wait at the ground floor lobby" walked out of the main door.
Harry faced her after the door shut, his hands clasped between his knees, elbows pressing against his knees.
For a moment they did a perfectly good impression of two people who hadn't met in a while and were well aware of the growing tension between them. Her eyes were fixed on the mural behind him, his looking out on the balcony.
The hair on her arms electrocuted to a vertical line after he cleared his throat, and she slowly moved her gaze towards his. Their eyes locked.
Vibrant green. Forest brown.
Still, he didn't speak. His lips were sealed into thin lines that were turning white from the pressure. The anticipation was getting too much for her and she feared that she was going to do something very dumb and stupid if he kept her waiting any longer.
His eyes dropped down and she followed his gaze to her hand, which she hadn't realized was tearing into the leather.
She pulled it back into her lap and ducked her head to wave off the embarrassment for her juvenile action.
"I came here to speak with you"
Her head whipped up.
"And your husband"
She didn't even attempt to hide the shock of his statement.
"My husb – John – what -"
He held his palms up.
"I'll explain" He swiped his tongue over his bottom lip and took a long breath. "I work as a freelance photographer, though in recent times I've only been working with one client." He paused and continued after her nod. "Dennis, Colin's little brother."
Her eyebrows raised slightly. "Really. I think the last time I saw him was..." she tilted her head to the side, eyebrows knit together to ponder the thought. "Yeah, had to be my graduation. I think he was in fifth year if I'm not mistaken."
"Yeah. He was a first year during our fourth."
She tucked her curl behind her ear. "Yeah, so that's right. Actually, I never spoke with him much. At the top of my mind, I can only recall one conversation we shared, and it was at the house party after your first task and remember him asking me if I could get you to sign an autograph for him. Apparently, something about you really intimidated him."
"Right, and of course he sought you out cause your presence always radiated warmth back then" he smirked.
He ducked to his right as the cushion went flying past his head.
"I rest my case" he smiled, and they both chuckled.
"He was a shy kid" she said. "Not at all like his brother who before you knew it was right at your face"
"He's still the same - I mean he's come into his as he matured. He is married and has a little baby girl."
"Really!" her face broke into a smile.
"Yeah"
"Wow. Life's been good for him. I mean he's partnered up with you now and I bet you anything that makes him just as happy as the birth of his baby girl."
They shared a laugh though Harry's was a bit reserved that went unnoticed by her.
"I won't deny that he openly wept when I propositioned him about teaming up."
"I can imagine" she chuckled, wiping the moisture at the corner of her eyes. "Go on."
"Right, now, what am I about to tell you can either make me look very stupid or you're going to blow the roof of this place"
That had her eyebrows rising to her hairline as she leaned forward in her seat. "Alright, you have piqued my curiosity. Continue"
Harry took a deep breath, and she could tell that he was nervous as he swiped his hands – which she could tell were sweaty from experience - on his trousers. That both ignited her interest even further and made the back of her neck prickle with anxiety. A nervous Harry is never a good sign for the immediate or the foreseeable future.
"Dennis found out that secret experiments are being conducted in Sanctuary for the past few weeks"
A sharp gasp escaped Hermione's lips and Harry took that as a sign of continuing.
"That your research team discovered something really big that only a handful of elite members of the facility and I presume the minister are privy of."
To say that she was shocked would be an insult. Her insides were trying to claw their way out of her gut while her heart was beating so violently, she feared it would literally burst out.
She was speechless, in every sense of the word. This was bad, really bad.
"W-who told him" she stammered, out of breath.
His gaze dropped down to his hands.
Her eyes narrowed and if she weren't so single-mindedly focused right now, she would've been slightly worried at the frightening pace her shock morphed into anger.
Gritting her teeth, she balled her fists tightly "Who the fuck told him!"
She jumped up from the sofa with such force that a small bout of her magic seeped through her control and shattered the vase sitting on the side table.
She didn't even care to look as her eyes were blazing down on Harry. "Give me the name" she growled.
Harry stood up. "Just calm down -"
"DON'T TELL ME TO FUCKIN CALM DOWN! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BIG OF A FUCK UP THIS IS!"
He stretched his arms out front, palms facing her. "Alright" He waited a beat as she continued glaring daggers at him. "It was a guy named Tom, friend of Dennis', works at Sanctuary." He ran a hand through his hair and heaved a sigh before putting his hands on his hips. "Apparently, he slept with someone at the top and...well you can surmise the rest"
The next few minutes passed in silence as Hermione kept walking back and forth, muttering under her breath the entire time. Suddenly, she stopped, turned to him, walked over, grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him towards the floo.
"Wha - Hermione!" He was too shocked by her behavior to do anything but to simply let her pull him along.
She shoved him inside the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder before stepping beside him.
"Sanctuary!"
She pulled on his sleeve as the flames died down and stepped into the entrance hall of Sanctuary. "What's his last name"
She looked over her shoulder at him when he didn't respond. His eyes were wide in awe as they swept all around, taking in the stunning architecture.
She dug her nails through his shirt.
"Ow! What-"
"His last name, what is it"
"Oh, umm, shit - I don't know"
She stopped and turned around to face him. "You don't know?" she lifted an eyebrow, every word coming out of her mouth was laced with unbridled rage.
"No. It's not like he's my friend. I've never even spoken to the guy before, and I only ever heard Dennis mention him a few times before."
"Fine" she gritted through clenched teeth.
Five minutes later they reached the reception desk that was occupied by three young women.
Hermione stepped before the one in the middle.
"I want everyone named Tom in my office in ten minutes."
Her mouth opened and closed a few times. "O-of course, Madam Granger. I will deliver your message right away"
She pulled out a red leather folder and opened it as Hermione pulled Harry towards the hallway to the left that led to the lifts as the green-eyed wizard looked over his shoulder and saw the receptionist tracing the list of names from top to bottom.
They reached the small opening with lifts lined in a row along the marble wall. Hermione pressed the button, moved to step inside and only then came to the realization that she had been holding on to Harry's hand, the entire time.
She let go and moved inside, eyes pointing to the ground. She cleared her throat and pressed the button to the third floor after he followed her inside.
She chanced a glance up at him through the curly brown curtain of her tresses to find him staring straight ahead, jaw locked tightly.
They reached her office, and she motioned Harry behind her to shut the door. Once in the safe confines of her office walls, she took big deep breaths and slowly let them out.
She could feel Harry's gaze following her as she walked back and forth the entire length of the room, fingers pressing into her temple.
Her mind was a cluster of rapidly swirling thoughts, too fast for her to keep up with any and with each passing moment she was getting more aggravated.
She was making little unintelligible noises and by the deep frown marred across her features it was quite evident that she was not aware of it or anything, for that matter. Her head was starting to feel heavy, and she sensed a terribly bad case of nausea permeating her senses.
She stopped by the table and placed both hands on the wood, leaning over it as she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing.
"Hermione, what's happening – I mean – I don't understand"
"Yes, you don't understand, Harry!" she whirled around, anger radiating in waves around her and suffocating her.
Harry held his hands up, but she ignored his silent plea and barged on.
"Do you have any idea how big of a fuck up this is!"
"Hermione, I don't even know -"
"That's right! You don't know anything so do me a favor and just shut up. I'm literally shaking here...you have no idea of the ramifications of what you told me...you weren't supposed to – God -" she thrust her hands in her hair and grabbed onto strands on either side of her head, pulling them up and out. "FUCK!"
The window panel adjacent to the table shattered into small fragments as tiny shards flew out into the hall.
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and took a few steps backwards until his back touched the wall. He crossed his feet and folded his arms over his chest.
"You made your point"
Hermione puffed out a harsh breath before facing the broken window.
She sighed and craned her neck back. "I forgot my wand at home" she looked over her shoulder at him. "Could you?" she jerked her head towards the space in the wall. "My magic is to erratic at the moment for wandless"
"Sure"
Harry pulled his wand from where it was tucked under the waistband at his back.
"Reparo" he flicked the wand in an upward motion before drawing a curve to the right.
A few scant seconds later the window was as good as new - shiny and without a blemish - and not a single piece of glass lay strewn across the floor.
"Thanks" she said softly.
"Don't mention it"
Just then there was a knock at the door.
"Come in"
The door opened and three men walked in. It was quite evident who the culprit was since only one was of Dennis' age. The other two gentlemen seemed well over 50.
"You two leave"
They both bowed slightly before leaving.
"Close the door" Hermione told Tom, barely restraining her anger.
She looked at him and down once before staring into his blue orbs. He stood with his feet at shoulder's width apart and his hands folded at the front, a charming – close to being flirty – smile on his face as his eyes trailed her up and down.
Her jaw made a clicking sound as her teeth grinded, truly out of her power.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Harry subtly shake his head. She took a deep inhale and closed her eyes.
"Do you a wizard by the name of Dennis Creevy?"
She opened her eyes and gone was his confidence, replaced by fear, the pathetic smile ripped from his lips as they parted in a gasp.
"What did you tell him" she whispered in a raspy voice.
He opened and closed his mouth like a gaping fish taking its last breath and just like the dying fish knew about its inevitable fate, so did he for his eyes were indistinguishable jewels of terror.
"ANSWER ME!"
"N-nothing...I-I d-di-didn't tell him anything"
She marched up to him. "Listen to me" she grabbed him by the chin, forcing him to look her in the eye. "You're done. There's no way around it but" she jerked his neck forward, bringing him down to her eye level. "I can make sure that you won't be hired so much as a cleaner." She let go of him. "Anywhere"
Disgust rose over her features as he dropped to his knees, heaving sobs echoing off the walls.
Harry pushed his frame up his nose as his eyes switched between them.
"Listen mate"
Tom let out a shriek as his head whipped in his direction, only now noticing there was another person in the room and his eyes turned even wider in realization.
Harry knelt on one knee before him and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm a friend of Dennis. He told me what you told him so I think it's best if we can all be honest here, yeah. No point in keeping secrets now, that ship's long sailed. C'mon" he gave him a pat before standing up.
Tom turned his pleading eyes back at Hermione who had a permanent glower fixed on her face.
"Madam Granger -"
"TELL ME!"
"All I told him w-was...th-that the research team were running experiments in the lab"
Hermione glanced at Harry who gave a slight shake of his head.
She balled her fists tightly, nails digging into palms and turning her icy glare back at Tom "You're lying"
Tom started shaking his head, a line of spit dangling from his chin.
"That's not all you told him" she growled. "You also told him something else, something very important, something you weren't supposed to know, and then you broke one of the cardinal rules of Sanctuary...You divulged the information to someone outside the center and that alone is enough for me to deem it worthy that you be kicked out in the most humiliating way because you know – just like every other employee – how important secrecy is in what we do. It's the code that's imbedded deep inside the brain of every person who works here. But that was not enough for you, no, you're a rebel, rule breaker." she crouched down. "You know the other rule that you weren't supposed to break. Let me recess your memory since your brain has ceased to work." She took a small pause, eyes flicking down to his lower lip, quivering like jelly after it had been poked with the lightest of touches. "Have a relationship with a colleague"
His eyes widened comically as she glared daggers into them.
"Please, I swear I didn't -"
"That's it" she stood up and flung her arms in the air. "Get the fuck out. I don't ever want to see your face again and you best get comfortable in this position because you can bet your shriveled arse that this" she waved her finger up and down at him. "Is how you'll spending the rest of your pathetic life." Her face contorted into disgust. "The only thing missing is a steel bowl, or a worn-out hat"
"Hermione, that's enough"
Harry's voice was soft but his tone firm.
She clenched her jaw and turned away, leaning her hands on the table.
"M-Madam Granger, ple-please. I swear I didn't have any relationship -"
"Having your dick inside someone equivalates to the same penalty you moronic prick." She sighed inwardly. She didn't want to do this. God, she really didn't. She'd always despised those who used this method of retrieving information. She played with the idea of performing legilimency. In his frazzled state he might not even notice...but if he did, that's 5 years in the cell and the American law didn't care if the minister's wife broke the law, even for something as little as peeking inside someone's head even when said person had broken a contractual rule. Only those that worked in the Magical Law Enforcement had the power to perform the act of mind reading and she didn't want the blue coats anywhere near this mess cause by decree of law a formal report would have to be filed and then she could do nothing to hide it from John. Piskus, who was the Head Auror and John's best friend would definitely inform him of it. Thus, it left her no choice.
Thumping her fist on the desk and cursing under her breath she craned her neck to the side, catching Tom's helpless gaze from the corner of her eye.
"There is one way"
She despised the power she felt coursing through her veins as his breathing came to a halt and he eagerly awaited her next words.
"If you tell me the name of the woman who you slept with..." She swiped her tongue across her lips. "You can keep the job and we'll forget everything"
She turned her head forward and waited.
Gasping breaths with tones of disbelief filled the silence before "Serenity Blax"
She took a long breath and let it out slowly through her nose.
Ten minutes later a woman entered the room. She was of Hermione's age, give or take a few years. Dressed impeccably in violet robes with her golden hair coifed in a high bun at the top of her head, she smiled at Hermione as the door closed behind her before halting in her steps as her gaze landed on Tom standing in the corner right next to her. Her eyes turned wide, the blush on her cheeks dissipated and her lips parted on their own violation.
He lifted his tear-stained face at her and a moment later she whipped her head at Hermione, mouth moving silently.
Hermione held up her hand.
"Save it."
"Your reaction has said enough. Now, I need you to think very carefully about what you told him, and you know what I'm talking about so don't even think of playing me right now Serenity because I'm at my wits end"
"Hermione -"
"It's Madam Granger to you" hissed Hermione in rage filled whisper.
"Madam Granger, I told him nothing -"
"Alright, this is getting nowhere" Harry cut in.
Serenity let out a yelp as she turned her wide-eyed stare at Harry, watching him approach Hermione's desk in disbelief.
"Serenity..." Hermione sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as Harry came to stand next to her. "I would warn you to think your next words very carefully. Think about your family, your husband and your daughter and how what you say next can impact their lives"
Serenity's face turned ashen white as tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes.
She took stuttering breaths, shaking her head in misery as she tried but failed to cleanse the salty liquid running down her cheeks.
"I...just told him about its age, that's all...I swear" She took a step forward but stopped as Hermione held up her hand. "You have to believe me...please"
"I believe you" Hermione replied coldly as her gaze turned steely. "Serenity, you're fired. See yourself out."
"Hermione please...don't do this – We're friends"
Hermione's eye twitched as the anger she'd been trying to reign in broke free. "Friends are we?" She seethed; every word dipped with venom as she walked over to her. "There are many rules in life, Serenity, but friendship only has one." She waited a few beats as she glared down at the shorter woman. "Respect. Everything else, compassion, love, loyalty, they're all extensions. Respect is the foundation to true friendship, and you showed me that you don't respect me because if you did you would've respected the protocols I had set and not broken them FOR A FUCKING SHAG!" She took calming breaths and let them out slowly. "I don't care what you do in your private life, but I do take issue when it starts interfering in your work." She rubbed her forehead as she tilted her neck back. "Have you told anyone else, your husband – anyone"
"No, I swear, Hermione -"
"Great" Hermione brought her hands down and leveled her with a stony gaze. "My decision is final. Because of our history, I'm doing you a curtsy of keeping this between us but don't expect a referral from me for any future endeavors because it won't be pretty. Leave your badge at my desk before you leave"
She flicked her gaze at Tom who was now breathing normally and had been watching the entire scene unfold with rapt attention.
"Both of you"
She turned her gaze away before shock contorted every muscle on his face and his eyes widened in betrayal. She sidestepped Serenity, opened the door and called out over shoulder "Harry" and walked out.
They were back in her apartment. She was leaning against the kitchen island, hands folded under her chest as Harry stood near the dining table, hands in his pockets. Both their gazes were directed at the floor.
She was mentally exhausted. She had been so naïve thinking that the secret would never get out, even when some of the pureblood bigots didn't agree with it and voiced their firm objections, she felt secured in her belief that her staff respected her decision and feared her wrath, but in the end it wasn't the old fools that broke her trust, it was someone she genuinely considered a friend.
She could count on the one hand those she would call a friend and Serenity was one of them.
Thinking back on her conversation with John in her office a few days back, she felt like a fool. The whole time she'd been trying to convince him to extend the announcement by a month. She almost wanted to laugh at her own stupidity.
Now, she wanted to take back the three days extension she begged him for the day before yesterday on their living room sofa. If it weren't for the lab results taking 2 to 3 days, she would tell him they were good to go with the original announcement date – the day after he came back from his trip. But Emmett and his team were still in Salem and knowing how extensive the library at The Hall of Secrets is it would be pure luck that they'd be back within five days. And that is if they do find what they are looking for and the experiment works, and the results are positive, and all this isn't just going to be another smoke show.
She closed her eyes. She was getting too far ahead of herself.
One problem at a time, Hermione.
Dumbledore's deep baritone soothed her jumbling nerves, and she kept repeating the words until her heartrate returned to normal.
Maintaining the secrecy of a discovery of this magnitude always dangled on a knife's edge, how she'd managed to convince her otherwise she had no idea. Now with the advantage of hindsight, she considered the operation lucky that it had been kept quiet for this long...hopefully - they couldn't afford another talebearer, not now when they were so close.
And it was just pure dumb luck that out of all the witches, wizards, news agencies, ministry officials – all around the globe – the secret reached Harry.
Craning her neck up, she watched him rub his shoes along the tile floor and on any other time the squeaky sounds would've set her teeth on edge as it had many a times in the past but right now it was all background noise as her brows furrowed in contemplation.
"Harry?"
He looked up and halted his leg, silence engulfing them for a few moments as she tilted her head to the side and fixed him with a curious stare.
"Why are you really here?"
She watched his eyes go wide and thinking that she might have come across as rude, quickly amended her question.
"I meant I don't believe you simply came all the way to inform me about what you thought was merely a rumor. What's your play here"
The tension left his face, and it helped settle her own nerves as the last she wanted after seeing him in a decade was to make him feel that he wasn't welcome.
Despite that, her brows furrowed further when he turned around and walked over to the large round window overlooking the Chrysler Building. She kept waiting and a minute passed before his voice filled the room.
"I came..." he sighed. He shook his head and ran a hand through his dark locks.
She'd always loved his hair. Wait, where did that come from. She pushed the absurd thought aside.
"I came to request you and the minister to let Dennis' magazine break the story in the UK."
He looked over his shoulder at her. "That's the reason I came" his voice took on a gravelly nature. He shrugged his shoulder as one corner of his mouth titled up. "That simple"
She was stunned.
He truly was here for work. Not to simply warn her of the leak or something else...she realized she'd been hoping for the latter.
A deep weight settled in her heart.
She couldn't - wouldn't ponder the reason why.
Wetting her lips, she focused her attention back on his words.
"Come again?" she moved across the room towards him.
He put his hands in his pockets.
"I - well we hoped – Dennis and I that you would let Dennis publish the story along in the UK, along with exclusive pictures"
"Pictures?"
"Yeah." He took out his camera tucked inside his robe and waved it at her.
"Let me get this straight" she eyed the rusty looking camera. "You came here to propose to let Dennis' magazine - which I've never heard of to be frank - break the story of the century in the UK and be the source of exclusive pictures which I presume is why you're here"
He gave a curt nod of his head.
She scoffed.
"Are you out of your mind! Surely you must be joking"
"No" his reply was sharp.
She threw her hands in the air. "Harry..." she rubbed her eyes. "I - I don't know what you want me to say, honestly. This is preposterous" she shook her head, balancing her hands on her hips. "I'm sorry you wasted your time coming all the way down here but it's a firm no from me. The story of this magnitude deserves the biggest outlet and not a wildlife magazine run by one man." A dry laugh bubbled out of her lips. "Frankly, I'm bewildered you would think that there was even a chance. I'm half expecting you to say that it was just a prank"
"I understand" He said, leaning on his right leg. "But I would still like to request a meeting with the president"
Her eyebrows inched towards her hairline as their stare prolonged for several beats of silence "Be my guest but I can assure you his answer would be the same"
He gave her a small smile. "I'd still like to try. I understand his schedule won't probably warrant an official meeting but maybe if I can see him at home, you know, just for a few minutes. I'd really appreciate it if you could make it happen."
"Fine" she shrugged her shoulders, looking away. "But he is Paris at the moment and wouldn't be back for another six days."
"That's fine. I can extend my stay till then I suppose."
She nodded, as her tongue felt too dry to respond verbally to that statement.
She looked around, not knowing what else to say when her eyes caught the time on the clock.
"Shit! It's eleven, already!"
"What" he looked at her in alarm.
"I was supposed to leave for my expedition an hour ago. Shit, shit, shit. The keeper of the cottage probably already left. Fuck!" She nearly ran to her room.
Two minutes later she came back dressed in a loose pair of jeans, a white blouse and a brown leather jacket and saw him standing in the living room, gazing out at the mural.
He turned to her and looked her up and down once.
"What expedition?"
"Its research based. Ungh!" She groaned in annoyance as she went to grab the house keys in her bag but met empty air, forgetting her bag in her room. She summoned it with a flick of her wand and the brown leather bag came zooming through the air. She caught it and strapped it over her shoulder before fishing out the house keys. "I'm writing a paper on the entire project. It'll incorporate everything from the discovery of the beast to the creature itself. I have pretty much all the information I need except for the cave where the creature has lived for the past 15 years. I believe the place holds secrets that are begging to be unraveled, so that's where I'm going for a few days. I'll be back by Monday"
"Oh" There was something about his response that had her whipping her gaze back at him. She expected to see his expression mirroring some semblance of shock as was hinted by his breathy exhale of the syllable, but instead he appeared to be deep in thought with his eyes trained at her feet and she could literally hear the coils in his brain working overtime.
She frowned at noticing his breathing get heavier and chest falling and rising with every breath he took.
"Harry?"
His eyes snapped up at hers and she was slightly startled by the intensity she found in his green irises, as if he'd forgotten she was there.
"Listen. Maybe the president might agree. Who knows, right? Maybe my name still counts for something. Dennis seems to think so. That's why he asked me to do this. He thinks I still carry some kind of clout" he gave a wry smile.
She was about to say that of course it does. The Harry Potter fanbase hasn't taken a dip since she'd moved to New York. Anytime she visits Flinburg or any magical community she still gets hounded from time to time, not because she is a war hero herself, no, because they all want to know about Harry Potter. Even in the walls of the ministry whenever she felt someone staring a hole in her head as she sat at the café, she became aware of a couple of things simultaneously, that the pair of eyes belonged to a newly appointed employee and that they were itching just to come over and wrack her brains for any information regarding the green-eyed wizard standing before her.
So yes, Dennis wasn't wrong in the belief that the name Harry Potter still carried clout. It certainly did, however, she didn't think it would be of much assistance in this case.
During the previous president's reign, for sure, she lost count of how many times he bribed her to personally write a letter to Harry and asked him to visit. He got so desperate that by the end of his tenure – when he knew he wouldn't be keeping his seat – he literally resorted to begging.
John, however, was a fish from a different pond. Nothing fazed him. He couldn't care less if the saviour of the wizarding world paid a personal visit or to give his campaign a boost. It's not like he didn't respect him, she knew he did, it just wasn't in his nature to put men on the same pedestal as God, even if their actions were much greater than any god or deity many worshipped. That was the precise reason why she was hesitant for Harry meeting with him. John wouldn't be so kind in his rejection. He would be honest and blunt with his answer. It would be swift and spoken in such a nonchalant manner that Harry might feel disrespected.
She shook herself from the reverie when his voice filled the silence once again.
"So, I was wondering" his voice came out as hoarse and he cleared his throat before continuing. "That if I could..." His throat bobbed as he swallowed, swiping his tongue across his lower lip.
Concerned bubbled inside her at seeing him this unsure of what he wanted to say.
"Harry, what is it?" she stepped forward.
He took a deep breath. "I was hoping if I could join you on your trip"
She stopped, not expecting that to come out of his mouth. "...Umm..."
"As you said he won't be back for another six days, and I've got nothing to do during that time. I know you won't let me anywhere near the beast if and until he agrees but I was hoping if I could take the pictures of the cave and the surrounding area so that if he agrees I won't have to go and visit the place on my own and it would save me a lot of time."
"Harry -"
"Look" He removed the camera from around his neck. "I would give you my camera after every visit to the cave or at the end of the night, so you know I won't just run away or make copies of it."
She sighed, switching her gaze between the camera in his hands and his hopeful gaze. This could put her in deep shit if word of this got out. This was supposed to be a solo expedition, everyone who was aware of the operation knew that. She had even declined the research team's assistance, she didn't want any distraction, no second opinions. She did not want to take the clinical formulaic approach and follow the protocols. That was the job of those below her who needed guidance at every step by a set of rules that she herself had come up with long ago. She was well beyond that. She wanted to follow her gut on this one because that's what told her to take the trip in the first place. But, to let someone accompany her, someone who wasn't even supposed to know about any of this...yeah, this could get really messy really fast if she isn't careful...and in many more ways that she has time to think about right now.
Steeling her gaze, she gave a firm nod of her head "Alright, but Harry, I must warn you that we have to be very careful which means you will do what I tell you to do when I tell you to do."
"I understand."
She flicked her wand towards the curtains folded on either side of the glass wall and the drapes began stretching towards each other and just before both the edges met in the middle and blocked the dark grey light seeping in through the gap, Hermione's eyes caught the cigarette butt laying on the table on the balcony and she inaudibly gasped.
Josh. She'd completely forgotten about him. She faced Harry and to the best of her ability tried to mask her worry behind a stoic expression.
"Harry, I'm going to do a quick once over, make sure all the lights and switches are turned off." I sometimes tend to be careless." She forced a small smile which she hoped didn't look as unnatural as it felt. "Why don't you go and inform Ron and I'll meet you in five minutes."
"Oh okay. Aren't we travelling by floo." His gaze momentarily slipped towards the fireplace before snapping back to her.
"No, we'll be apparating and I don't know if you're aware or not but in the U.S. you can't apparate or dissapparate from inside a building. Anyone who breaks the law faces severe penalty."
"No, I'm aware of that. Stupid if you ask me."
"Yeah, I agree." she chuckled, heading towards the archway. "I'll see you downstairs." She was just about to step into the corridor when his voice stopped her.
"Hermione."
She cursed under her breath and turned sideways, her anxiety over Josh reaching a fever point.
"I just want to say thank you" He gave a little nod.
A little jab of pain pricked her heart at the formality of his gesture and she fully turned towards him.
"It'll be just like old times, you guiding me and me trying not to fuck it all up with one stupid mistake."
His little smile at the end made the pain ebb away and she smiled in return.
She pushed back a curl and sobered her expression back to neutral. He needed to hear this, just to keep the expectations at bay.
"Harry, I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. John...there is very little chance-"
"Hermione" he cut her off, the skin under his eyes crinkling under a wistful smile. "I understand...and it won't be my first-time hearing no."
Her heart stopped beating.
"I'll see you downstairs." With that, he was gone, not knowing the effect his words had on her, or maybe he did and that's why he made such a hasty retreat. Either way, her heart was pierced by a thousand needles and for the second time that morning she forgot about Josh as images from the past invaded her mind, a single moment replaying over and over.
"Hermione..."
"No"
It wasn't until ten minutes later that she was pulled back to reality when a very ragged looking John with hair matted to his forehead poked his head out of the laundry room, having enough of being cooped up in the cupboard and saw her standing at the edge of the corridor, looking very much like a lost child, and staring aimlessly at the wall.
1997
June 1
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
She looked up as Dumbledore sat down next to her, exhaling a long sigh.
"Professor"
"Hermione"
She turned back to face the lake.
"Why such a dour face Miss Granger." His voice was laced with mirth. "Normally, I find students are the most happiest when the exams are behind them." He gave a slight shocking noise. "Oh, forgive me, I forgot who I was talking to."
She shot him a wry smile.
"I'm just…" she sighed. "Nothing."
"You know I was once at a crossroads in my life at your age too. I had two options, be content with my life that revolved around my sister, take care of her and make sure that she had a smile on her face at every moment of every minute of every day…. or, go after my heart's deepest desire." He was silent for a moment. "I chose the second option. Did it ultimately prove to be the wrong decision? Yes. Would I do it all over again? Absolutely. Why? Because those ten years of my life that I got to spend with him brought me indescribable joy."
He shifted in his seat and faced her fully.
"You're in a similar predicament, aren't you? You are not sure whether you want to stand by Harry's side as the war rages on or take your parents and get as far away from this world as possible."
Her lower lip started to quiver as tears gathered behind her eyelids.
"I-I'm so s-scared." She lunged forward and hugged him. He put his long arms around her smaller frame and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Every day there is news of more and more muggle killings happening all around the country. Even my parents are starting to suspect something isn't right."
"No, it isn't right."
She pulled back and wiped the tears off her face.
"What do I do, professor." Her eyes were pleading with him for an answer. "Which path do I take".
Dumbledore brushed her hair out of her face. "The one that's harder to climb…. because otherwise you would never be able to live with yourself. Now which path is that is for you to decide."
He gave her a warm smile before standing up.
"It's been a pleasure getting to spend the last three years in your company, Hermione. Our morning walks have given me immense happiness…I'm honoured to call you a friend, dear." He gave her a slight bow before turning around and walking.
She frowned at the abrupt change. She wasn't sure why but she felt a sense of dread at his words. She was about to question him about it when his voice filled the air.
"Now, I'll leave you to your musings dear, as I've someone waiting for me."
Her eyes widened and she bolted up.
"You're going to look for the horcrux aren't you. Harry mentioned it earlier."
"That's right."
He turned around and began walking towards the castle.
"Professor!"
He stopped and looked over his shoulder.
"Please look after him – I know you would anyway but…. he lets his emotions get the best of him."
His lips quirked at the corner. "Not a scar. You could make sure by examining him…...fully."
She felt her cheeks burning and tried not to look away in embarrassment.
"Goodbye, Hermione" He shot her his signature wink before he was gone.
That was the last time she talked to him. Albus Dumbledore, the man she admired the most in the world, her confidant, her friend, died that night.
She honoured his death by following his advice, she chose the harder path.
A/N: You know the drill.