A/N: This is late, and my excuses are feeble, but I've been through a trying week including a relationship break up (fuck you, Chris, if you happen to be reading this) which is one reason why it's late. I'll have another chapter up before Friday, as I'm going away for the weekend. My mother deems retail shopping necessary. Read on, my lovelies!
The blonde let out a content sigh and collapsed into the arms of her lover, waiting for their breathing to slow.
"That...wow," was all she mustered and her companion let out a deep chuckle, pulling her well endowed body closer to his own and pressing their lips together in a sloppy kiss. They lay together, occasionally kissing and caressing each other's bodies as they came down from their high. Once their tremors ceased and they felt well enough rested, the blonde woman rolled from the man's grasp and sat up.
"Where are you going?" he frowned, propping himself on one elbow and ignoring the sheet that slipped down to reveal his freckled chest. "It's barely noon."
"No, it's three o'clock in the afternoon and I have a meeting with my editor," she reminded him in a nasal voice, slipping a white singlet over her chest to hide her ample bosom. She stood and pulled on a short black skirt and tossed on shocking pink robes over the top. "I'll see you later, Ron," she winked, getting on the bed on her hands and knees and pressing her lips against his firmly.
"Oh, you're not getting away that easily," Ron growled, pulling the blonde against his body and kissing her ferociously. Her hand wandered down beneath the sheet and gripped him. "Oh gods, Lavender!" he moaned as she squeezed gently and then relinquished her hold. In his moment of euphoria she hopped off the bed grinning wickedly.
"Expect my owl," Lavender smirked as she escaped through the hotel door.
Ron let out a frustrated groan at his lost chance (though they had been at it for a few hours prior) and dealt with his little problem by himself.
"Narcissa?" Hermione spoke up timidly. They were seated in the back of a rather plush limousine that had picked them up when they reached Paris, and for the last ten minutes they had been sitting in silence. Hermione had felt very awkward as Narcissa sat across from her and observing her, and she felt it was time to at least make conversation.
"Yes, Hermione?" the elder witch asked, daintily recrossing her legs and resting her hands in her lap. Her oversized white bag lay on the seat next to her. Hermione couldn't help but think that Narcissa was one of the most fashion conscious people she had ever met.
"I was wondering why you brought me to Paris," Hermione said and Narcissa smiled.
"I absolutely adore Paris. The food, the wine, the clothes, the culture. France has such a fascinating wizarding history as well, though I do not doubt that you are already well informed of it. Wizarding culture in France is so much more alive than the drabness of Britain's. I figured I would give you a taste of the culture, and I want to introduce you to a few of my associates who have similar mindsets to your own," the car pulled to a stop as Narcissa stopped speaking and the door flew open on its own accord.
Hermione climbed out and immediately gasped at her surroundings. They stood before a towering, breathtaking chateau. Hermione couldn't help but be reminded of princesses as Narcissa walked her up the stone stairs to the front entrance. They were surrounded by splendid gardens and lush grass, and Hermione had the distinct feeling that they had travelled far further than a muggle car could in twenty minutes. Narcissa raised an elegant hand and knocked on the old oak door twice. After a few minutes the door opened, revealing a vast entrance hall and a smiling witch. Without a second thought Hermione realized that this woman was at least part Veela.
"Ah, Narcissa! 'Ow wonderful," she said in a silky voice, sweeping forward and kissing Narcissa's cheeks. When she stepped back Hermione surveyed the woman properly. She was the most beautiful woman Hermione had ever seen. Her silvery blonde hair hung in large curls to midway down her back, and her large eyes were a misty grey.
"Bonjour," Narcissa said, smiling broadly as well. "Hermione, I would like you to meet my friend Calline Chevalier. Calline, this is Hermione Granger."
Something in Hermione's mind clicked at the mention of Calline's last name and she had to fight her jaw from dropping. The Chevalier family were the richest family in the wizarding world. Their line extended back further than the records were kept, and were known not only for their masses of wealth, but also enchanting looks. Long ago, a member of their lineage had bred with a Veela, and the blood of the beautiful creatures had been dominant ever since. It seemed many Chevaliers could not help but fall for Veelas, and the Veelas also became smitten with the humans.
Calline Chevalier was the last left of the family, and according to the press she had no intentions of marrying or continuing the line legitimately. For a child to inherit the Chevalier fortune, they must be birthed to a couple joined in wedlock, and it appeared Calline had no intentions of ever marrying. She had enjoyed a string of lovers, though none had given her a child, and none had escalated past the point of lover in their relationship. She was not rushed, however. With the Veela blood came a prolonged lifetime, and though she had been alive for fifty three years, she looked not a day over twenty five, and the rest of her biological makeup matched the age she appeared.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle Chevalier," Hermione greeted the stunning witch who swept forward and, much to Hermione's surprise, placed two kisses upon her cheeks.
"'Ermione Granger! Eet iz a pleasure to 'ave you in my 'ome," Calline beamed, beckoning Hermione and Narcissa inside.
Hermione looked around the grand room with awe, but had no time to note down the intricate details as Calline and Narcissa swept through the large area and onto a quainter, but no less impressive, parlour. A clock in the corner tolled, informing them that it was nine o'clock. Calline sat in a light blue armchair and indicated that Narcissa and Hermione were to do the same.
Hermione sat awkwardly whilst Narcissa and Calline jabbered in French with one another. To ease her boredom she looked around the room with great interest. The walls were pale and the floors dark, with mismatched furniture scattered without. There were patched blankets, no doubt sewn with the finest fabrics available, thrown over the couches, and paintings, both wizard and muggle, adorned the walls. As Hermione observed her eyes met with the green eyes of a portrait's and she viewed the painting carefully.
"My father when 'e was younger," Calline explained, following Hermione's gaze.
"Calline, do you remember when we were younger and he caught us trying to sneak into the cellar to steal some of his wine?" Narcissa asked, chuckling to herself. Calline joined in, nodding.
"Eet was ze best wine in ze country at zat point," the French witch reminded Narcissa who laughed again.
"Still, we were barely twenty. We had no appreciation of fine wines at that point. All we wanted was something to make the night a little bit more interesting," Narcissa's eyes twinkled mischievously at the memory and Calline giggled.
"'E was furious," she smiled at Hermione who smiled back absently.
"Forgive us, Hermione. We have not seen each other in an age. Reminiscing is simply what we do," Narcissa said apologetically, sitting up straighter. "Now, I believe we should talk business."
"Business?" Hermione asked and Narcissa nodded.
"Calline here has similar beliefs as you do regarding the treatment of house elves," Narcissa explained. "She has been wishing to start a charity regarding elfish welfare, but is lacking the support in doing so."
"And this is where I come in, I assume," Hermione smiled and Narcissa nodded.
"Your fame as well as your knowledge in running such a charity would be a great asset to this endeavour. I would be a major donator, clearly, thought Calline is in possession of more than enough money to get you off the ground," Narcissa said.
"Eet would mean a lot to me if you would aid me," Calline smiled and Hermione chewed her lip in thought.
She loved her work at the library, but she had adored her charity work. She had been making a difference, she had been helping people. She had been making a difference, something that was not happening each day at the library, and something that had definitely not occurred when she had worked at the advertising firm.
"I think I would like to join you," she decided after a few minutes of thinking, and the elder witches' faces broke into wide smiles.
"Well then, let us get down to business!" Narcissa clapped her hands excitedly and the three were immersed in conversation until six o'clock that evening, barring a brief interlude for lunch. By the time nightfall had come they had decided to base the charity out of London, with Calline visiting often on weekends to see to business with Hermione and Narcissa. They had outlined the basis of their aim (to grant equal rights to all house elves including holidays, payment and clothes) and were now completely ravenous.
"What do you say to dinner?" Calline offered and Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "I 'ave booked us into L'Ambroisie for seven o'clock."
"L'Ambroisie?" Hermione asked, brow creasing. "Isn't that incredibly difficult to get into?"
"Not when you are a Chevalier, 'Ermione," Calline laughed. "Now, I do not believe you are dressed properly. I will get you both some dresses." The French witch got to her feet and swept from the room before Hermione could protest.
"Oh, I must tell Draco to meet us at the restaurant," Narcissa thought aloud and Hermione stiffened.
"Draco?" she asked, feigning innocence.
"Yes, of course! He is here, shopping. I told him he must take a look at some new clothes. What he wears sometimes is absolutely ghastly," Narcissa frowned, withdrawing her wand. With a flourish she produced a patronus swan. "Draco, we are dining at L'Ambroisie at seven o'clock. Do not be late, and for Salazar's sake, dress nicely." With that the swan departed, leaving a misty trail of silver in its wake.
"You know, I should probably be getting home, actually. I forgot to feed my cat," Hermione mumbled her feeble excuses and got to her feet, collecting her belongings and shrugging on her jacket. "Thank Calline for me, and let her know I will send an owl in the morning," she added, grabbing her wand and making for the door. Narcissa's dainty hand clasped her wrist.
"You are not going anywhere," she said, frowning. "What has gotten into you?"
"I simply don't think it is a good idea," Hermione said.
"What? The charity? My, you were all for it just ten minutes ago," Narcissa feigned stupidity.
"No, not the charity. My frequent encounters with your son," the brunette clarified, resuming her seat. Narcissa's features softened.
"Hermione, he means you no harm," she assured the girl who shook her head.
"I'm not afraid. I just want to live without drama for a while," Hermione sighed and Narcissa frowned. "The war was basically my adolescence, and then I married Ron straight out of school, and that was always a whirlwind. Then came the babies, the divorce, and now I'm just coming back into the wizarding world and already seem to have one failed relationship. Everything is just beginning to settle, but now I'm restarting this charity, and every interaction I have with Draco seems to either leave me hurt or utterly furious. Everything with him seems so passionate and truthfully, I'm unsure of his motives."
Narcissa took this all in seriously, absorbing and compiling her response with much thought. "Hermione, dear, Draco's intentions are entirely innocent. He simply wishes to put your colourful past behind you and begin with a fresh slate," she said. "I will admit, I have encouraged him and his actions. I want you to be on speaking terms with my entire family, and by being friends with me your communication with Draco will be required. My son and I are quite close, and I am not willing to break that bond. I ask you to please, just give him a chance."
"Narcissa," Hermione sighed, gnawing on her lip, "I understand what you want, but I don't know if I can put everything behind me. Your son was my tormentor for my entire secondary education, and I know he's changed, but I don't know if I can simply accept his friendship." Narcissa sent Hermione a pleading look. "But, for the sake of our friendship, I'll try."
"Thank you, Hermione," Narcissa breathed a sigh of relief. "And I give you full permission to hex him into the next week if he does anything to hurt you."
Hermione let out a chuckle, relieved that the tense moment was over. Calline chose that moment to return to the room, already dressed with two other dresses tossed over her arm. Shoes and bags hovered in the air behind her, falling to the ground with a soft thud. Hermione's eyes widened as she took in the half-Veela's appearance.
During the day she had been wearing a ridiculously short red dress, black heels and a black jacket, and it seemed she was dressing more outlandishly for the dinner. Her black heels were impossibly high and her sequined dress impossibly short. Hermione felt a pang of jealousy. Her blonde hair was lightly curled and she looked as though she had just stepped from the runway.
"Narcissa, I 'ave a dress 'ere for you," the French witch smiled, handing Narcissa a pale pink garment. "Ze bathroom is to ze left."
Narcissa accepted the dress and disappeared into the bathroom whilst Calline fussed about with the shoes and bags, finally withdrawing a pair of high purple heels. Hermione hoped her heels would not have to be that large, though she assumed there would be charms placed on them to ensure the wearer did not trip. Narcissa emerged, absolutely beaming, and slipped the shoes on quickly.
"'Eet iz your turn now, 'Ermione," Calline instructed, handing a white dress to Hermione and nudging her towards the bathroom. Hermione frowned and accepted the item of clothing, scrunching her face at the texture when she turned away. A leather embellished dress? She had never heard of such a thing, much less worn one. She entered the bathroom and stripped down quickly, thankful she had worn a white bra and knickers. She slipped the dress on with little difficulty and her eyes bugged out when she took in her appearance.
Even without any heels her legs seemed never ending, and the dress contrasted with her sun-kissed skin perfectly. There were small silver embellishments as well as the leather additions, and Hermione was in awe of her appearance.
"Hermione, are you quite alright?" Narcissa's concerned voice came through the door and Hermione jumped and laughed at her own fright, leaving the bathroom and rejoining Calline and Narcissa. As soon as Hermione entered the room Calline shoved a pair of high heels in her direction and her jaw dropped. They were terrifyingly tall. Hermione shook her head.
"Nonsense! Zey will look amazing!" Calline insisted. Hermione knew that if she refused then they would force the shoes onto her feet, so she accepted them with a resigned sigh. She wobbled slightly when she stood, now as tall as Narcissa.
"Shall we?" the older witch asked, and Calline and Hermione nodded. With L'Ambroisie in mind, they spun on the spot and appeared in front of the wizarding entrance of the restaurant. This part of the restaurant was hidden from muggle view, as was the entire wizarding dining area. The food was exactly the same but serving was more extravagant in the wizarding area due to many charms and spells created for the sole purpose of food serving.
They were greeted at the door by the enthusiastic maître d' who led the way to their table where Draco was already seated. The young wizard stood at their arrival.
"Mademoiselle Chevalier, it has been too long," he said smoothly, kissing the cheeks of Calline.
"You 'ave grown up since I saw you," she smiled and Draco blushed. Hermione stifled a laugh.
"Mother," Draco said once he had regained his normal complexion, embracing Narcissa and pressing his lips to her cheek. Narcissa sent a lazy smile her son's way and joined Calline at one side of the tabe.
"Ah. Hermione," Draco greeted Hermione awkwardly, and lifted her hand to brush his lips against it. Hermione blushed and withdrew her hand hastily.
"Hello, Draco," she said and allowed him to push her chair in behind her once she sat. He joined them at the table, beside Hermione, and they waited for their pre-ordered meal to come out. Calline and Narcissa decided to hold their own conversation in French, leaving Draco and Hermione to their own devices.
"So..." Draco said after five minutes of fiddling with his napkin, and Hermione suppressed a sigh.
"Your mother informed me of your intentions," Hermione said after a pregnant pause and Draco quirked a brow. "That you were simply trying to rectify our relationship."
"Oh," was all he could say and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Thank you for being noble about it," she said and he smiled. "It would be nice to start again. Not just with you, but with everyone."
"You always have to start somewhere," Draco shrugged. "But we're not doing some stupid reintroduction thing, by the way."
Hermione laughed, finally relaxing into her chair. The waiters brought out two bottles of expensive champagne and poured the golden liquid into their flutes whilst Draco and Hermione lapsed into casual conversation. After a few more minutes, four beautiful lilies were placed in front of the four diners, on delicate plates. Hermione held her breath in anticipation and was not disappointed as the lily in front of her shrunk and closed up before turning into the first course of their meal.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Draco winked at her beginning to eat. The food was sublime, and possibly the most delicious meal Hermione had ever eaten. The serving of snails cooked with wild garlic and rocket, sprinkled lightly with parmesan cheese was only small, but too much of it would render one sick of the dish.
When they had all finished their food they fell back into easy conversation, Draco corking open another bottle of champagne and refilling their glasses.
"Whatever happened to your marriage to that Greengrass girl?" Hermione asked, sipping from her glass. Her cheeks were pink and she was almost constantly smiling.
Draco cringed. "You heard about that? She was vile. Only after my money and as daft as a doorknob."
"She was pretty, though," Hermione pointed out.
"She is more than pretty. She's beautiful, but only on the outside. She's vain and self-centred, and there is more to life than good looks," Draco reminded her. "Besides, I would rather someone I can hold a decent conversation with than someone as beautiful as Astoria."
"I see," Hermione said. She opened her mouth to say something more when the second course, pan fried sole with asparagus and morels in vin jaune, arrived. The smells coming from the plate (delivered normally by waiters this time) were divine, and all thoughts of conversation left Hermione's head as she consumed the delicate food.
"What about you and Weasley?" Draco asked when their plates had disappeared and Hermione looked at him, lifting her champagne flute to her mouth once more.
"Which one?" she asked bluntly. "Merlin, that sounds so slutty."
Draco let out a loud laugh at her words. "Ron," he clarified. "What's the real story behind that?"
"You sound like a reporter," she grimaced and sighed. "He wanted kids, I didn't. Eventually I caved and got pregnant, but I had a miscarriage." She paused and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "We were devastated, but Ron...he just wanted me to keep going. He was determined to have a child with me. So I got pregnant again, and had another miscarriage. And then another. And then he wrote to me one day and told me he was having an affair." She let out a humourless laugh. "He said he was desperate to have a child, and seeing as I couldn't give him one, he had found someone who could."
"What a tosser," Draco frowned, reaching for the champagne bottle and pouring more into their glasses.
"You can say that again," Hermione muttered. "The short of it is, he's a cheating prat and I'm apparently unable to have a child."
"Are children important to you?" Draco asked and Hermione shrugged.
"I don't really know. I never pencilled having kids into my grand scheme of things, but I suppose having children tends to be a random affair for most. My mother never thought she'd have kids, and then I popped up. The ability to have them is always nice," she frowned.
Draco, sensing that this was an awkward topic to have brought up, was very grateful when a sprig of ambroisie appeared before them. Each leaf morphed into an element of the dish. The largest leaf changed into a beautifully cooked piece of pigeon with a caramelized onion glaze and the other into side dishes of peas and seasonal vegetables. As with the other two courses, the food melted when tasted and was simply incredible, but Hermione could not rid the sour taste left in her mouth from her conversation with Draco. She finished the dish last, earning a worried look from Narcissa as she had finished the other two courses first, but she gave a small smile in return and the older witch looked away.
"I shouldn't have brought that up," Draco frowned apologetically. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Let's just not talk about it," Hermione said, her tone sharp. "How is working for Beedle going?"
Grateful for the change of conversation, Draco chattered pointlessly on about his employment until dessert arrived. At this point Hermione seemed to be in better spirits, though that was no doubt due to the champagne and now dessert wines she had been steadily consuming. The individual cheesecakes with strawberry coulis were divine, and Hermione ate hers rapidly.
Coffee was served not long after, and the four joined in conversation about the new charity endeavour. Draco was interested in the prospect of helping with whatever he could, earning a delighted smile from Calline and Narcissa.
It was midnight when the quartet finally stood to leave. Calline insisted on paying the enormous bill which was equal to six months of Hermione's salary, and Draco placed a steadying hand on Hermione's lower back as they left. Hermione had drunk an awful lot and was very red. She leaned heavily on Draco as they left and he guided her towards a glowing blue wine bottle that would act as a portkey.
The last thing Hermione heard before she was pulled away was Narcissa murmuring to Draco about making sure that she got to bed safely, and then Draco's pale finger reached out and touched the wine bottle too. When they landed in her lounge room, Draco helped her to her feet and all but carried her to her bedroom where he pulled off her shoes and helped her beneath the covers, and then there was darkness.
PLEASE REVIEW! I love reviews. They make me happy.
One thing I want to inform you of: This story isn't going to be really fast paced Dramione loved up action. I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible, so there will still be fighting and so on later. Just because they made nice when Hermione was drunk doesn't mean they'll be friends forever.
As well as this, I'll be adding in parts from other characters' lives, like the first part of this chapter.
Also, L'Ambroisie is a real restaurant, and the food mentioned in this chapter is on the menu there. It is a three Michelin star restaurant, hence why I chose it. Once again, there are photos of outfits, as well as the chateau, if you follow the link in my profile.
REVIEW!