Chapter 14
Six and a Half Hours Earlier
Hermione yawned and rubbed her eyes as she walked down the hall, unlocked the door to her office and bee-lined to the Kureg. Dumping everything on the couch in a heap, she quickly selected the strongest coffee she could find and set it to brew. Silently thanking the gods for the beauty of caffeine, she sluggishly stored her cloak and purse and began to get ready for the day.
An hour and a half, and three cups of coffee later, Hermione was knee-deep in busy work, pausing every few minutes to glance back at the still empty office behind her. The mounting prickle of instinct told her something was definitely wrong. Correspondence needing attention were already rolling in by the dozen, while there were undoubtedly numerous others awaiting responses from Bill and there were several meeting planned for the day. A sinking feeling grew deep in the pit of her stomach and a lump formed in her throat as panic slowly settled in. Her mind on overdrive, she didn't even register that her reaction was pure concern for her boss's well-being. Her second consisted for the best way to cover Bill's absence and check on him at the same time. Biting her lip as momentary blankness clouded her mind; she suddenly jumped up and darted into the office.
She fought back feelings of intrusion as she settled into the plush chair behind his desk. Her feet dangled in the air and her knees banged violently against the desk as she turned. Quickly she slipped off her plain, beige, low-heeled shoes and tucked her stocking covered feet beneath her bottom, vaguely becoming aware of how chilly they felt as the heat emanating from her from body contrasted sharply with them. Hesitating slightly, she ruffled through the parchments piled neatly on the desk. Quickly she put aside the ones ready for filing and to be sent out. She then separated to ones needing signatures, edits Bill had noted, and the ones that still needed to be reviewed.
It was only after she'd sent out her signature for her owl, knowing no one would think twice about official documents coming from her owl, that she noticed a figure in the doorway. She barely stifled a screech as she fell back and huddled against the back of the seat.
"Miss. Granger," the voice was devoid of warmth or humanness, emphasizing the danger of his tense body and glittering eyes.
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