Snippets

Chapter Nineteen

Hermione, still recovering from her treatment, thinks that quite possibly the last thing that she wants to do is to go to a charity gala for St. Mungo's. The gala isn't for another couple of weeks, but even still, Hermione thinks that she would rather do perhaps anything else. The only saving grace is that Hermione knows that her friends will be there, too– Harry will be there because he's Harry Potter and by extension, Ginny will attend. Ron will be there because his wife, Padma, is a Healer at Mungo's, so they will both be there, too.

Hermione wonders briefly if Healer Greengrass will be there– and also if Draco will be.

It's been over a week since Hermione had woken up at Harry and Ginny's, and almost one week since her last appointment with Healer Greengrass. Hermione had tried to look for Draco on the Neurological Maladies floor following her last appointment, but it had appeared that he was either with a patient or not in the office when she was, and she hasn't heard from him since the day of her treatment.

Hermione knows that Draco had visited her while she was at Harry and Ginny's, but she had been asleep at the time, so she hasn't actually spoken to him in almost two weeks. Hermione is sure that he is busy, but it still strikes her as odd that someone who considers himself to be her friend would seemingly vanish into thin air at precisely the time that she becomes ill and would need a friend.

In any case, due to Hermione's unfortunate invitation to the gala, she finds herself in need of a gown.

Hermione decides to try Diagon first before she ventures out to Muggle London to look for a gown. Muggle and magical fashions have begun to merge more and more since the end of the Second War, so Hermione thinks that she should be able to find something which suits her taste without having to tackle the high-street of London– at least not yet.

This is how Hermione winds up sifting through three different shops on Diagon in search of a gown. She doesn't even think that she is being particularly fussy, but nothing seems to be sticking out to her.

Hermione sighs and resigns herself to heading toward the final boutique on the strip– L'alto. Hermione doesn't speak much French, but even she knows into whom's store she is about to walk.

Despite never having actually been inside this boutique, it looks exactly as Hermione had expected based on the singular vision which she has had in this setting.

"Good morning, welcome to L'alto– oh. It's you," the proprietor of this particular boutique– one Pansy Parkinson– huffs when she realizes who has just breached her threshold.

"Your hospitality needs work," Hermione snarks as she walks ahead toward the desk at which the dark-haired witch is currently standing.

Pansy humphs, crossing her arms over her chest dramatically.

"What can I do for you, Granger?" Pansy asks, although she doesn't sound even the least bit interested in the answer to that question. Hermione also notes that Pansy has somehow made her surname sound like a cuss word, which strikes her as a particular sort of talent. She fights her smirk when that thought occurs to her, so as not to cause further strife with this witch.

"I have a gala in two weeks. I need a dress."

Hermione decides that not only is she determined to be the bigger person in this equation, but she is also not going to beat around the bush. She is exhausted and her feet hurt from attempting to find a suitable gown for this event all day and the last thing that she wants to do is to have to do this all over again. From the little that she knows about Pansy Parkinson, it is clear to Hermione that the witch knows her fashion, so there should be no world in which she shouldn't be able to locate an appropriate gown for her.

Pansy's eyebrows raise slightly, but in contrast, her shoulders relax.

"Will we need to match your gown to a date or will you be attending alone?" Pansy asks and it is very clear to Hermione that she has an ulterior motive for asking this question. Hermione isn't sure what that motive could possibly be, but she resists the urge to roll her eyes all the same.

"I'll be attending alone."

Pansy makes a dramatic 'huh' sound before she steps out from around the counter waving her arm to direct Hermione to walk with her toward the back of the boutique.

"Do you have a particular color in mind– or a style?"

Hermione shrugs. She hadn't really thought of any parameters for her gown for this event– she had just assumed that she would know the gown when she saw it.

"With your skin tone, I would recommend warm tones– reds, plums, golds, even warm blues, although most jewel tones would compliment you, too," Pansy explains, her tone of voice now feeling much more accommodating than it had when Hermione had first arrived. Hermione is sure that there is a reason behind this switch in tenor, but she doesn't have the mental capacity at the moment to try to dissect it.

"I think I would like red?" Hermione states, although it comes out more like a question.

Admittedly, fashion is not Hermione's strong suit. She can pull herself together for a nice event, but more often than not, she has Ginny and/or Padma's help for such occasions. She knows that both of her friends will help her with her hair and makeup for this gala, too, but she had hoped that she could pick out her dress on her own. Evidently not.

Pansy sighs, as if she seems to know that she has her work cut out for her in this case.

"Well, that's a start, I suppose."

Hermione waits a further three days before she decides to take matters into her own hands. Her visions have not ceased– unfortunately– and she would prefer to continue her research, however, she still hasn't had any contact with her former research partner.

That fact is how Hermione has ended up here, outside of Draco's townhouse, knocking on the heavy, wooden door.

Hermione knocks thrice and waits– and waits. She sighs and frowns, now even more confused than she had been prior to coming here.

As far as she is aware, she hasn't done anything to upset or anger Draco, though the thought had occurred to her that perhaps she had said or done something which she doesn't remember. In that case, she would just like for Draco to tell her so that she could properly apologize or address her infraction.

However, it seems as though Draco is set on ignoring her, so after a few more minutes, Hermione decides to slip back into the alley behind Draco's townhouse and apparate back to her own flat.

"So, you haven't heard from him at all?" Ginny asks, crossing the room while balancing three newly refilled wine glasses in her two hands. She passes one glass to Hermione and the other to Padma before she takes a seat on the sofa beside Hermione, tucking her knees up underneath herself.

"Not a word," Hermione huffs, taking a sip from her glass of red.

Hermione had– or, more accurately, Ginny had– decided to invite Ginny and Padma over to her flat tonight for a girls' evening. According to Ginny, it has been 'far too long' since the three of them have had the chance to hang out. Evidently, the week that Hermione had spent sleeping in Ginny's guest room while Padma monitored her every move doesn't count.

"He really seemed different," Padma sighs, running the tip of her finger along the edge of her own glass. "I've seen him– with patients, with colleagues. He is different. Maybe he's busy?"

Hermione rolls her eyes.

"He was my 'support person' during my procedure, and then he fell off the face of the planet immediately afterward. He's not busy," Hermione snaps, downing the rest of her glass in one sip and summoning a new bottle from across the room. "Something happened."

"Yeah, I wanted to ask about that, but… not in front of Ron– he's still a bit tetchy about Slytherins," Ginny gulps her wine and laughs lightly before she continues. "How exactly did Draco end up being in the room with you?"

"I asked him to be," Hermione responds, shrugging her shoulders. "I talked to him about the treatment when Healer Greengrass first told me about it. He gave me some advice– as my friend, he said. I trusted him."

Padma stands from her chair across the room and moves toward Hermione, sitting on the floor in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Padma frowns, slurring her words slightly as she rests her chin on Hermione's knees. It's then that Hermione realizes that her friend's wine glass is empty– for the third time– and laying on the floor sideways.

Hermione chuckles and pats Padma's head gently, watching as her friend's eyelids begin to droop.

"I just– something must have happened," Hermione muses, leaning back against the sofa and blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "I must have said something or done something while I was out of it."

Ginny raises an eyebrow at Hermione and it's then that Hermione realizes her mistake. Even drunk, Ginny Weasley-Potter doesn't miss a trip.

"And what exactly would you have said or done, 'Mione?"

Hermione averts her eyes from Ginny's and bites her bottom lip.

"The treatment triggered a vision," Hermione begins, tracing her finger over the seam on her sofa cushion. "I'm– I'm not sure, but I think I remember the vision. It came back to me in pieces once I woke up at your house. I– it was… graphic. Maybe I– maybe I told him about it?"

Ginny leans forward slightly and narrows her eyes conspiratorially.

"Graphic how?"

Hermione tips her head and eyes Ginny pointedly. She knows for an absolute fact that her friend knows exactly what kind of graphic she is referring to, but that Ginny is going to make her say it anyway.

"It's– it's one thing to tell him that I had a vision of us kissing," Hermione sighs, rubbing at her forehead with the palm of her right hand. "If I told him that I had a vision of him pinning me to a wall with his tongue down my throat and his hands on my arse, that would explain him not answering when I knocked on his door."

Ginny blows out a breath and jokingly fans herself with her hand as she begins to laugh somewhat manically.

"Merlin, 'Mione," Ginny smirks. "Wait, so you think that you told him about your vision during or after your treatment and that now he's ignoring you because of it?"

Hermione shrugs, but nods. She doesn't know, but so far, that's the best that she's got.

"Okay, I could see that, but that doesn't explain why he came to see you after Healer Greengrass discharged you and sent you home with me and Harry."

Hermione frowns and furrows her brows. She shifts in her seat slightly, but she doesn't want to wake Padma, so she stays mostly in place.

"Well, if it's not that, then I'm out," Hermione huffs. "I have no idea why else he would be freezing me out."

Ginny shakes her head, but pauses abruptly.

"Maybe it's not you," Ginny says suddenly, her eyes snapping up to meet Hermione's. "Like I said, when he came 'round to see you, he just sort of… stared at you. Harry said that he caught a glimpse around the corner when Draco was in the room with you. He said that he looked sort of pitiful– like something was eating at him."

Hermione sighs and lays her head down against the back of her sofa.

"Well, if something is eating at him, then he needs to tell me– not hide from me."

Hi, friends! Happy Tuesday! (:

First and foremost, thank you all for your responses on last week's chapter regarding my question about uploading my new Dramione. If you missed it, I did upload the first chapter of that new multi-chapter Dramione (Love Ain't) on Friday! Check it out if you're interested. (:

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and as always, I thank you for spending a bit of your time here with me this week. It truly means so much to me. (:

Please, if you feel so inclined, leave a review. I absolutely love reading your thoughts, theories and favorite parts. (:

See you again next week! (: