Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Election day - part 2
Hermione woke up as the rays of sun burst trough the large window. Still sleepy and yawning she heard a bell ring on the other side. She opened the door to see a small house-elf ringing the bell vigorously.
The house elf looked up at Hermione timidly. Dinner is ready madam. Mr. Parkinson and his family would like you to join them.
"Sure, give me a minute. I need to go to the bathroom."
The small house elf bowed and stood next to the door waiting.
In a few minutes Hermione came back from the bathroom dressed in the clothes she came in yesterday, witch was like a modern women's suit with a bit of a magical twist, custom tailored of course.
"Alright little guy, lead the way." Hermione tucked in her gray shirt with silver buttons, following the small house-elf.
She walked into the large, richly decorated dining room. Large glass doors revealed a view of the garden and also let the sun in, so the room required no lighting from the extravagant chandelier hanging above. The table was square and rounded on the edges and had eight chairs, one on each end, and three on the sides.
Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson were sitting across from one another, each on their end of the table. They both stood up when Hermione entered the room.
"Hermione, you're here. Meet my wife." Mr. Parkinson said as his wife walked over to shake hands. She was a classy looking woman. She wore an elegant green dress and a white pearly necklace.
Hermione shook the woman's hand noticing her flawlessly manicured nails. "Alexandra Parkinson." The woman said giving a slight smile.
"Hermione Granger." Hermione replied.
"I know, my husband has told me a lot of good things about you."
"I'm sure he's over-exaggerating." Hermione said managing to appear humble.
Mrs. Parkinson' gave a small nod and a smile in response and went back to her seat.
"Hermione, have a seat here." Mr. Parkinson tapped on the empty spot at the table next to him. "Call Pansy, will you." He said facing the house-elf that patiently waited beside the table.
"Yes, I believe she's still in…"
"And tell her, we have a guest. Make sure she's dressed for the occasion." Mr. Parkinson added with a sigh.
"Yes master." The house-elf said rushing out as if the house was on fire.
Hermione and the Parkinsons had a pleasant and relaxed conversation while another house-elf brought a bowl of soup and magically floated the scoop to pour it into each plate, not neglecting the empty spot next to Mrs. Parkinson.
Moments later Pansy walked in wearing a simple looking knee length black dress with two straps on the shoulders. She quickly glanced over at Hermione. Granger's hair was shorter and straight now, but it was her alright, Pansy concluded, those same eyes sparkling with intelligence that she didn't like staring into. Pansy took a seat next to her mother. She grabbed a spoon and wiped it on the white table cloth than begun eating her soup without saying a word.
"This is my daughter Pansy." Mr. Parkinson said with a slight frown that Hermione didn't miss.
"We know each other actually. We went to Hogwarts, same year." Hermione explained, looking at the thin and pale young woman who continued eating her soup with bangs falling over her eyes. Pansy hadn't changed that much since school days, besides the fact that she was obviously older. Her hair remained the same, a black haired bob-cut, along with a small nose pointing slightly upwards, were her two distinct features.
Pansy remained silent, eating her soup, spoon after spoon, not bothering to raise her head up from the plate while everyone awaited any sort of response from her.
"Well, aren't you gonna great our guest at least!" Mr. Parkinson let his hand fall heavily on the table making the fork cling against the tall wine glass, as he spoke with a mixture of distress and anger.
Pansy stopped eating and Mrs. Parkinson gave a warning look to her husband.
Pansy suddenly stood up and dropped her spoon down in the plate making the soup splash over the table cloth, than she ran off bursting through the double doors out of the dining room.
"There goes my appetite…" Mr. Parkinon sat shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm sorry you had to see this Hermione."
"It's quite alright." Hermione said at a loss for words.
"I'm just displeased with my daughter so much… I do a bad job of hiding it."
Mrs. Parkinson stood up making a loud screech with her chair and gave a look to her husband that signified rebuke. "I'll go see if she's alright." She said throwing her napkin on the table.
"Well go than." Mr. Parkinson said silently looking away from his wife's gaze as she stormed out, going after their daughter. "I'll say it again. I wish my daughter was more like you Hermione. She's useless, shuts herself up in her room… I'm sorry I'm boring you with my personal problems."
"No, no, do go on." Hermione replied instinctively in an attempt to be polite, and partly because she was genuinely interested to hear more about her former schoolmate and rival.
"We gave her everything. At lest she could have found a good husband, but not even that. And there were plenty of choice, believe me. We had plenty of young men over for dinner trough the years… I just don't understand."
"I can tell you she was rather different back in the school days."
"I know, and she didn't become like this over night either. It happened over time, but lately I'm beginning to think there's really something wrong with her."
"If that is the case, we should be careful. It might hurt our campaign, if our opponent…"
"I know." Mr. Parkinson cut her off. "Don't worry, she wouldn't do anything crazy, or leave her room for that matter. She's just… useless. That may seam harsh but it's the first word that comes to mind."
Hermione was straining to keep a concerned look on her face, but she was happy to hear Pansy described as useless, by her own father no less. "I guess we can forget my idea than…" She realized saying it out loud.
"What idea?" Mr. Parkinson inquired.
"I was just thinking the other day, about getting your family more involved in the campaign. I don't think just a family portrait will do."
"I think we can forget that idea, you've seen how they are."
"Maybe you're right." Hermione accepted.
End of ch2-