A/N: Thank you for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! You can find me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
Please let me know what you thought of chapter fifteen and be on the lookout for chapter sixteen soon!
Suddenly, Hermione wasn't so bored anymore. She no longer had hours of time at home baking croissants, now that she was juggling so many different projects for Fenrir and her actual job.
Her pints with Sirius increased in frequency the more that she got pulled into the Antonin's orbit. She tried to make time to go see him after every time that she got back from the boxing gym. Even though she hadn't wanted to take this undercover job in the first place — and frankly, had been skeptical about her utility in this particular role — she now knew just how valuable the intelligence she was able to gather really was. By listening carefully and making mental notes of the various names Fenrir and Antonin threw around, she was able to piece together a web of individuals who were connected to Tom Riddle.
She knew that Sirius was quite pleased with her, too. He heaped tons of praise on her for how well she was doing. Knowing that she had him in her corner to go to for advice made her feel much more confident in her abilities as an undercover officer.
It even got her to broach the Remus topic with him now and again. Hermione couldn't bear to tell him that Fenrir thought Remus was jealous of their relationship. No matter how much he hovered or tried to communicate with her through knowing glances, Hermione just could not bring herself to think about Remus thinking about her that way.
Sirius did try to get her to see things from Remus's perspective. She'd been so against the idea of going undercover, so scared of Fenrir Greyback at the beginning, and now she was swimming away from every lifeline that Remus was trying to toss her way. She promised Sirius that she was absolutely not drowning, but that she would hear Remus out. They were on the same team after all.
So, when she was working at the warehouse, tucked back away in her little laundry room with a book in tow, she didn't make herself scarce when Remus came sniffing around.
"You've been busy," he said, broaching the conversation delicately, maybe expecting her to bolt or for Fenrir to pop up out of nowhere the minute that they started talking.
"Well, it's a big job," Hermione said, forcing herself not to jut her chin out at him in defiance. They both wanted the same outcome. Or, at least, Hermione thought that they did. "You know how much money he's got. It's not like I want to be laundering money forever here."
Remus gave her a wry smile. "The way that I hear it, that's not all that you are doing," he countered.
Hermione gave him an annoyed look, wondering if he was trying to make some sort of innuendo.
He immediately put up his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean that, I just mean, you are doing it all — the laundering, the drops, the pickups. Stan told me that you are even doing a little boxing now," he teased out, though Hermione was sure he already had all the details from Sirius.
Despite herself, Hermione laughed. "I can't say that I'm doing the boxing myself," she said, smirking. "But they do like me around the boxers. Apparently it makes them better behaved."
"And why's that?" Remus asked, leaning against the dryer that was still circulating money, clanging each time lingerie bag reached its apex and fell back down to the bottom.
"I guess because I'm a woman," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I have yet to see any evidence that it's true. In fact, I'd say some of them are on their worst behavior around me." She couldn't help but think of her on-going feud with Draco Malfoy, who seemed to make it his mission to irritate her as much as possible.
"It's a good thought," Remus said, nodding. "If they think that they have a chance with you..." He trailed off, looking at her almost wistfully.
Hermione felt something odd twist in her belly and she wondered just what he was thinking. Fenrir's words sprang to mind again, before she pushed them away, out of sight. "I think Fenrir has made it clear that they don't," she said, maybe more forcefully than she should have.
Remus's eyes snapped back up to hers. "Well, I'm sorry for getting you roped into all this mess," he said, with a frown. "I thought that it was going to be a quick accounting job — not whatever this has evolved into."
She wasn't sure if he was trying to apologize for her being so entangled with Fenrir Greyback. Though she certainly couldn't tell Remus, she found that she did not mind it one bit, despite her better judgment. "It's alright, Remus," she promised him, hoping to get him to see that she was just fine here, even if she couldn't come out right and say it. "It's a temporary job. I'll just finish up my work here and then eventually... move onto the next one. Wherever my feet take me."
He didn't say anything to her reassurance, instead just staring at her with a far off sort of look on his face, the rhythmic thumping of the dryer repeating in the open space between them. Finally, Hermione cleared her throat. "Was there a reason you came to see me, Remus, or did you just fancy a chat?" she asked delicately.
Suddenly, he straightened up. "Oh, right, yes, Fenrir wanted to see you in his office," he explained. "And just warning you, he has a special guest."
Internally, Hermione felt her stomach drop, wondering just who this special guest could be. But, even more, she worried about how long she and Remus had been alone together and what Fenrir would read into it. Mechanically, she walked over to the dryer to stop it, taking out the bills so that she could bring them with her to the office — plausible deniability, hopefully.
Walking through the labyrinthine hallways with her head held high, Hermione tried to remind herself to be self-confident. She'd quickly learned that was the best way to deal with all of these dangerous men. She couldn't give them any hint of weakness, or she knew that they would want to exploit it. Squaring her shoulders, she knocked on the door to Fenrir's office when she got to it.
"Come in," Fenrir barked from the other side of the door.
Hermione breezed in with a smile that faltered when she noticed the white blond hair of the room's other occupant. She was pleased to see that it wasn't bane of her existence, Draco Malfoy, but there was no doubt that they were related. "Remus said you wanted to see me?" she asked, putting her hand on one hip. "Sorry I didn't come right away, but the dryer was almost done." She handed him the mesh bag that held the laundered money.
"Doing a bit of housework, eh?" the unknown man drawled. "How quaint."
The way that he spoke made Hermione understand where Draco got his bad attitude from. But, she also knew that were was something more deadly in this man than the boy she knew. She held her tongue to stop from snapping at him, instead choosing to keep her focus on Fenrir.
The larger man stood up from behind the desk and grabbed her by the hand, before pulling her over to sit in his lap. "Comfortable, Peach?" he asked her, keeping an arm around her middle.
Hermione was decidedly not comfortable in this situation, but wasn't about to say anything. She got the impression that Fenrir would not like to be questioned in front of the other man. Instead, she gave him a tight smile and waited to figure out what the hell was going on here.
"This is Hermione," Fenrir proudly introduced her. "My accountant."
Lucius smirked at her. "Ah, your accountant," he answered, barely sparing Hermione a glance. "Here I thought she was just a little tart."
She couldn't hold back an indigent gasp, but she supposed she could understand why he'd think that, with Fenrir pawing all over her. "Yes, I'm the accountant," she said firmly, hoping to straighten him out.
"This is Lucius Malfoy," Fenrir said, by way of introductions, a bit of aggravation in his voice.
"Hermione Granger, was it?" Lucius asked, sounding rather like he knew something that he ought not to.
"Just Hermione is fine, thank you," she answered as primly as she could from her spot. It didn't have as much bite when she was draped over one of Fenrir's strong thighs.
"Yes, I've heard a lot about you from my son," he said, sneering at her. So that was one mystery solved at least — Draco must be his son. Well, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. "Though, he didn't seem to think that you had any useful skills."
Hermione bit the inside of her cheek, but ultimately couldn't hold back what she really wanted to say. "I am sure you will find that there are a great number of things that Draco is clueless about," she answered as sweetly as she could. "His health being the most glaringly obvious."
Lucius did not appreciate anyone speaking ill of his son, but it appeared that he had bigger fish to fry. "And this is really who you and Antonin have decided to bring in on contract negotiation?" he asked Fenrir, suddenly ignoring her again.
"Yes," Fenrir answered, utterly relaxed. No matter how much Lucius looked down his nose at him, it appeared that Fenrir did not care one iota what the other man thought of his decisions. "And I think you'll find that Antonin is in agreement."
"I'm—I'm not a lawyer or anything like that," Hermione stuttered out, hoping that she wasn't giving the wrong sort of impression. "Just someone with an eye for numbers. And... someone who might find mutually agreeable ways to make those numbers work for everyone."
"She's the one who got Flint on board," Fenrir explained.
"Ah yes, Mr. Flint's impending return to the ring. Charming," he said. "She's also the one who is promising things that she can't possibly promise to Rabastan, isn't she?" Lucius turned his attention to her, the look in his eyes absolutely vicious.
Hermione could feel Fenrir stiffen behind her. "Peach, what's he talking about?" he asked, turning her to look at him.
She immediately began to worry her lower lip, wondering how to broach this. "He approached me while you were talking to Antonin, the other day. He wanted to be sure that he would be well taken care of after he fought Draco," she explained, trying to keep an even tone. This really wasn't as big of a deal as Lucius was making it out to be. "He wondered if he could work in a bonus if he gave a really good performance."
"You are not allowed to promise drugs to Rabastan, understand?" Lucius asked, his voice increasing in volume.
"I didn't promise him any drugs," Hermione insisted, crossing her arms over her chest petulantly. "I don't even have any drugs that I could promise to him."
"You might not, but Fenrir does," Lucius argued back. "And now you've created an expectation for Rabastan."
"Oh, that's bullshit," she spat out, not liking the way that Lucius was making it out to be. "All that I promised him, was that I would talk to Fenrir about it. I didn't say that he would, I didn't say that he wouldn't. I'm just... I'm just an intermediary in this whole thing."
"I'll straighten him out," Fenrir said, relaxing back into his chair once he got a fuller picture of what had transpired, apparently no longer overly bothered. "He needs a little straightening anyway. Where the fuck does he get off asking for a bonus? We've already more than taken care of him."
"Perhaps he sensed the weakness in your... what was it? In your accountant," Lucius said, looking at her up and down. "Maybe he realized that you've elevated a hookup into a position that she isn't nearly capable of and decided to pounce. You can't blame the man. You know that Rabastan can always sniff these kind of things out."
Hermione gasped and stood up from Fenrir's lap abruptly. "I am not a hookup," she insisted, staring down Lucius. But, it didn't really matter. By reacting the way that she did, it was clear that he had already won. He'd already figured out how to get the better of her.
"Please," Lucius said, giving her a look of fake sincerity. "You might not have realized it yet, but that's what you are. You're not a girlfriend, you're not half the accountant that you think you are. You are just a pretty piece of arse to show off, perched on Fenrir's lap. The sooner you face the facts, the better it will be."
She wished that his words didn't hurt so much, but they did cut her deeper than she wished. With bated breath, she waited for Fenrir to say something, anything to make it clear that Lucius was lying. But, she was met with nothing but silence. Unable to wait in the room any longer, she stomped her way off, slamming the door behind her.
Lucius was able to get one last barb in, making a throw away comment about how there would be a new one after she was gone.
Hermione needed to get out of the warehouse and away from Fenrir before she did something stupid like cry. It was silly to be so upset over someone like Fenrir Greyback, someone she shouldn't even have feelings for.
But that was the crux of the matter, wasn't it? She did have feelings for him. Despite her best efforts, she really liked Fenrir. He was funny and cheeky and he always found a way to make her laugh. He was shrewd and smart — much smarter than she'd given him credit for initially. All it had taken was a few suggestions to get him moving in the right direction, but he'd been an apt student. He could take his illegal business far, if only he wasn't the target of a federal investigation, one he was completely unaware of.
There was no mistaking that he had a dangerous side, too. It felt shameful to admit it, but she sort of liked his dominating personality and the way that he always got things done. He handled everything and made sure business was running to his satisfaction. Sometimes he got a little bit too dangerous, though, like when he beat a man bloody for stealing just a little bit of money.
She also was shocked to confront the fact that she secretly like the possessive way that he acted around her, always having to let everyone know that she was his. He had no qualms about kissing her in front of others, not bothered by the audience. And she loved the way that he took control of their interactions, pushing her until she was on the brink of madness. There was something about it that sent such a thrill up her spine, always wishing for more, leaving her aching for him.
And that was the other problem. Lucius had only been half right, after all. Despite how much he claimed to want her — pressing her against walls and snogging her silly — she was decidedly not Fenrir's hookup. Even though she wanted more — and she could admit that in her own mind only, she did want more, desperately — Fenrir had only ever left her panting. He never gave in to the intense chemistry that was boiling away in each of their interactions.
What the hell was wrong with her? She should be glad that Fenrir Greyback didn't want to touch her. She was investigating him, for god's sakes! She was setting him up to be arrested. It was a terrible betrayal for someone she claimed to have feelings for. It should make it easier to do her job the more distance that they had between them. She should be thanking the gods that there wasn't more between them.
This way, she could just get the job done and return to her normal life when it was all over. She would date, like Harry and Ron were always pushing her to. She would go out with someone nice, someone like Oliver Wood or Neville Longbottom. Anyone who wasn't Fenrir Greyback.
To her shame, she only wanted Fenrir Greyback.
As she stormed down the sidewalk, shivering from her lack of coat, she told herself that she had to face the facts. Fenrir didn't really want her. If he did, he would have... would have done something about it by now. But, while she might be a silly amusement — perhaps wanting to see how far he could push her before she made a fool of herself — Fenrir wasn't interested in someone like her. He obviously liked women like Daphne... beautiful and confident and... and part of that world.
Fuck, Hermione thought to herself, wiping a rogue tear from her cheek. The wind stung her skin where the wetness was left behind. This was all Sirius's fault. If he hadn't suggested using her... her feminine wiles to get more information, none of this would have happened. She wouldn't be feeling so heartbroken over a bloody gangster. She wouldn't be so utterly changed.
Since Sirius was the person to get her into the mess, he was the only one who could get her out of it. Passing the bus stop by her flat, she left her flag there for Sirius to see that she wanted to meet, before heading over to the pub round the corner. She wasn't sure if a beer would make things better, but she was going to find out.
The least she could do was drink herself silly and forget Fenrir.
Until the next time she had to face him.