A/N: Huge thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed after last chapter. Your words give such a boost to my day. I once had a review for Can't Change the Way I Am that said Daphne was kind of like a bossy fairy godmother, and I loved that! Of course, she had to appear in this as well, so I hope you like her: Daphne Greengrass, the BFG.
Please let me know what you thought of chapter four, and be on the lookout for chapter five soon!
July, 1999
As the first two weeks of her time working at the Ministry wound down to an end, Hermione found herself working later and later each evening, sometimes even closing up the office. It was partially the work that kept her, but Hermione could also admit that it was easier to keep avoiding her friends that way.
Hermione worked hard. Her friends would believe that Hermione Granger couldn't meet them out for drinks because she was too busy working.
For some reason, they hadn't gotten the message that she was still quite cross with them. And, honestly, she would love to go out on this Friday - her first official paycheck! - but instead, she sent off an owl letting them know she was just too busy. It was times like this that Hermione wished she'd made some more friends, but alas, she had not.
Since she didn't actually have anything going on, she decided to just stay and finish the Bulgarian deal, seeing as she'd finally figured out the last permit, which had been quite tricky to translate. She was diligently scratching notes along with her quill when throat clearing caught her ear.
Looking up, Hermione saw another woman from her department staring down at her. "Granger." She greeted her cooly.
Hermione met her blue-green gaze confidently. "Greengrass." She responded in kind. Of course she knew who Daphne Greengrass was - they were in the same year - but Hermione had never actually spoken to the witch, so she had no idea why she seemed so annoyed with her.
"This is the second Friday I have seen you here past six." Greengrass crossed her arms over her chest, looking utterly stylish in a fawn colored shift dress and tall nude heels. Her smoky eye shadow was perfectly executed, in a way that made Hermione long for the skill. Whenever she tried, she always ended up looking like she had a black eye. The only pop of color, where her brightly colored lips.
Hermione blinked, realizing that she'd been staring at the girl. "Yes, well, I've really got a lot going on. I was just going to finish the paperwork on this last permit."
Greengrass rolled her eyes. "No one is going to be around to approve the permit even if you finish it now." She flipped her dark blonde hair over her shoulder. "It can wait until Monday."
The former Gryffindor felt all of her reasoning for staying late disappear before her. She had no reason to make any excuses to Greengrass. "I suppose it could." She settled on finally, feeling a bit lame.
"Come to happy hour with me." Greengrass said suddenly. "Honestly, it's nice having another woman around here who actually knows her stuff and I will go mad if you leave because you've burned out staying late every Friday."
Hermione was completely taken aback by the girls offer. Here she was just lamenting that she didn't have very many friends, and it looked like this girl had swooped in to save her from boredom. Plus, it would be nice to get to know some of the others in her office. She was going to be here for a long time and it would be good to make friends. A drink would actually be lovely after the confusing two weeks that she'd had.
Except. "I would like that Greengrass, it's just that I just told my friends I couldn't meet them for drinks because I had work. I wouldn't want them to see us and then think I lied to them." That was a bitter pill to swallow when clearly the three of them had been lying to her all school term.
"Daphne please." The blonde smiled, sensing that she'd won this round. "As if I would take you to any establishment that would be frequented by a Potter or a Weasley." It was true. Daphne didn't go to pubs. Instead, she went to stylish rooftop bars, with fairy lights, real couches, and an impressive wine list.
Hermione bit her lower lip, considering the possibilities. She really wanted to go with. "I don't know..."
Daphne rolled her eyes. "Fine, we can talk about your Bulgaria proposal for like ten...fifteen minutes tops if it will make you feel better. Then you can say we were working." She gave Hermione a wicked smirk.
"Oh, alright!" Hermione readily agreed, picking up her bag from under her desk. She was tired of thinking of everyone else's feelings. She wanted to do something for herself for once. "Where are we headed?"
The rooftop bar that Daphne took Hermione to was every bit as swanky as Hermione imagined it to be, and she loved the plush couch that they were sitting on. Hermione did feel horribly under dressed though in her gray skirt suit robes, feeling quite a bit dowdy compared to the modelesque Daphne. She was sure that she wouldn't have even gotten into this bar without the presence of the former Slytherin.
The blonde looked through the wine list before ordering them a bottle of something moderately priced. Hermione was a bit surprised because she had a certain impression that pureblood girls like Daphne had little concern over how much something cost. She felt a little bit bad for making such an assumption when the girl had been so nice to her so far, and she really had no reason to be.
It put Hermione on edge, not used to someone not expecting something from her in return.
Once she had a full glass of sauvignon blanc in her hand, she let some of her curiosity get the better of her. "As much as I appreciate the offer, Daphne, I am a bit confused about why you'd ask me of all people for drinks." She hoped that came off as polite, not too rude.
Daphne smirked at her, transforming her severe facial features to be playful. "Well, as I said before, you are the only other woman, besides Mrs. Higgs in our department, and I enjoy having another female to commiserate with."
"So you just asked because I'm a woman?" Hermione said, not sure if she should be offended or not.
"Well, that and I think you will be quite fun. You should have loads of stories after all." Daphne said. "I always admired you at school, you were willing to take anyone on." She took a long sip from her glass, cheeks already beginning to flush from the wine.
Hermione nibbled her lower lip. "I must say I was a bit...surprised to see you at the Ministry...I didn't think that many...women in your position got jobs?" She tried to tread delicately, knowing that she could come off as abrasive, and she didn't want to scare off a potential new friend.
"You mean pureblood girls?" Daphne asked. Seeing Hermione's quick nod, she laughed low in her throat. "Asking a question won't offend me, Hermione. Well, you see my parents let me know that my finances were contingent upon me marrying a wizard of their choosing, and after all this time of listening and being a good girl, I decided I wanted to make my own decisions. So, I got a flat, moved out and got a job to support myself."
Hermione was seriously impressed. If she remembered the girl well from school, she'd always seemed a bit meek and a bit of a follower, but Daphne was clearly not what she expected. In an odd way, Hermione was proud that her new friend was so confident. "Good for you, Daphne." Hermione said with a small smile, noticing the parallels between herself and the girl. "What made you choose international trading?"
"Well, I always enjoyed arithmancy and working with numbers." Daphne said. Hermione remembered that she was one of the only other girls in her advanced arithmancy class. "And I like learning about other cultures and travel, so I thought this was a good fit. I got to go to China over the winter holidays." Daphne said, her face lighting up, obvious enjoying talking about her job.
"That's so cool! What was it like?" Hermione asked, actually on the edge of her seat.
"Well, all the muggles kept taking pictures of me." Daphne said with a silly grin. "I felt like a fashion model. Their wizarding world and muggle world are more or less integrated. It isn't like here at all. And most of the food was delicious."
"I hope that I will get to tag along on the Bulgaria trip." Hermione said, excited to share her work aspirations with someone who could actually understand what it was like. "I'm hoping to visit my good friend Viktor."
"Viktor Krum?!" Daphne practically squealed. "Are you still friends with him? Or more?"
Hermione laughed and shook her head. "No, not more, just friends. But our relationship was nice while it happened..." She trailed off feeling a bit wistful, having just ended her relationship with Ronald. It was nice to wonder what could have been if she'd reconnected the year before with Viktor at Bill and Fleur's wedding.
"Ooh! I know that look. Details?" Daphne asked, pouring them each a second glass of wine.
For a moment, Hermione worried that maybe the other girl was going to use this information against her, almost ruining her good mood. But then, Hermione pushed herself knowing that not everyone was out to get her. She could trust someone else, even if they were a Slytherin. "He's very...generous." Hermione said with a secret smile. Viktor had been her only lover, before she'd gotten together with Ron, and he'd been unbelievably sweet and considerate.
Daphne sighed. "He seemed so serious and driven." She said with a waggle of her eyebrows, a shade darker than her dark blond hair. "I mean, I am very satisfied with my boyfriend, but I must say, there is always something intriguing about tall, dark and handsome. So, you know why I am in International Trading, but why are you?" Daphne asked, truly curious. "Everyone was sure you'd go into magical law."
Hermione's cheeks immediately turned red. "Well, I actually just took the first job that was offered. I had a lot on my mind and I thought it would be a good distraction." She realized now how silly that sounded, but she couldn't change anything about it now. "But, I was definitely intrigued by the position. Like you, I enjoy travel and working with people from all over the world."
Seeing Hermione nibbling her lower lip once again, Daphne knew that Hermione had more on her mind and probably wanted to talk to her about it. "So does this a lot on your mind have anything to do with the reason that you keep avoiding your friends?"
The brunette's eyes snapped to her companion's face, clearly surprised. "Who says I've been avoiding them?" She demanded.
"Please, Granger." Daphne said with a roll of her blue green eyes. "You only ever stay late at work when you get a note from Potter. Then you spend half an hour agonizing over what to write back to him." Seeing Hermione's shocked face, Daphne feigned looking offended. "What? You aren't the only one who can be observant."
"I just hadn't realized I was so obvious." Hermione said, feeling a bit dejected. She decided to open up to Daphne, who had been a surprisingly good listener so far. "Merlin, you are going to think I am so stupid." She prefaced with a laugh. "Ron and I were dating all last year. Then at my graduation party, he introduced me to his girlfriend, Romilda Vane. I was upset, but Harry, Ron and Ginny acted liked I was being unreasonable. Like I should have known."
Daphne put a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I don't think you're stupid. I think your friends are arseholes." She said seriously. "And honestly, Romilda Vane? Weasley especially is an idiot if he picked her over you."
Hermione laughed, feeling tears in her eyes, but Daphne's blunt assessment kept them at bay. "Thanks Daphne. You know, for Christmas, he gave me a locket that said 'forever mine'?" She revealed with a smirk.
"What a tosser!" Daphne said annoyed. "When we were dating, Adrian Pucey gave me his grandmother's sapphire earrings, but he'd previously given them to Flora Carrow and then asked for them back when they broke up." She tried to commiserate, before pressing her hands to her cheeks. "Merlin, that made me sound like a spoiled little bitch."
"I don't think you're spoiled, Daphne." Hermione said with a giggle. "Or a bitch."
"Thanks Hermione. Though, I have been known to be quite bitchy, should the mood strike me." Daphne poured the last dregs of wine between their two empty glasses, and Hermione was about to comment about how she never drank this much, but it was just fun, her mind pleasantly buzzing.
When the bill came, the two girls happily split the check. Hermione was surprised by just how pleasant her evening had been. It was nearly nine o'clock, and the three hours they spent talking had gone by in a breeze. "Thanks for inviting me along, Daphne. I had a really nice time."
"Surprised, Granger?" The blonde gave her another wicked smirk.
"Yes, actually." Hermione said, feeling sadness that she didn't have more friendships like this during her time at Hogwarts. Perhaps if she'd opened herself up more...no, between her will to succeed in school and keeping Harry Potter alive, she never could have had a friendship like this. "I would love to do it again some time."
"That would be lovely." Daphne said with a pleasant smile on her face, before looking Hermione's crumpled outfit up and down. "And you will have to let me take you shopping sometime. Preferably as soon as possible."
"Oh, I don't know..." Hermione said with a grimace. She hated shopping for clothes. She never knew what would look right on her.
"Really, I insist." Daphne said a little too forcefully. "Honestly, Granger, just because we work for the Ministry doesn't mean we have to dress like factory workers."
Hermione felt her cheeks light up at the assessment of her clothing, but she figured that it was perhaps a more apt assessment than she would have liked. She supposed her clothes did make her look rather frumpy, and did nothing to highlight any of the physical assets that she did have. She certainly would like to look polished and professional, with just a hint of sexiness, like Daphne. Maybe, in her capable hands, Hermione would be able to achieve a similar look.
Parting ways with the Slytherin, Hermione felt a bit of genuine happiness creep into her heart for the first time in weeks.