It was still midday. Outside it still drizzled but Benjamin didn't mind the drive. His earbuds were turned all the way up but were still barely audible over the constant groan of the motorcycle engine. Wish You Were Here by Incubus could be heard and he gave it some gas to match the mood.
The drive wasn't as long as expected. The roads seemed the be a bit clearer than usual, so parking was a breeze for Benjamin. From a block away he could see the red phone booth. After a short walk, he inserted his Muggle money and dialed the appropriate numbers. As the booth descended, "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac played through his earbuds, droning out the ever-increasing rumble of chatter and advertising. He exited the phone booth as it stopped in the middle of the hearth entrance area. It had been over half a year since he had visited and did not seem to feel confident roaming.
He passed a handful of large, black plagues with bronze nameplates. The mailing service was on the same floor as he was on, according to the so-called map. A familiar name caught his attention just as he was turning to make way to mail off his letter. Benjamin pulled his earbuds from his ears, wrapped the cord around the iPod, and stuck them in his pocket as he gathered some intel.
Level four, Benjamin repeated to himself. Level four, level four.
He spotted the lift across the main area. Level four. He sauntered quickly, hoping it wouldn't close before he reached it. Level four, level four, level four. A short man with a long red beard, green robes and matching, round hat held the gate for Benjamin. Level four! Level four. Don't forget.
"In a hurry are ye? Where're you off to then?" The older gentleman who held the gate asked.
"Level four. Department of Magical Creatures." Benjamin replied breathily, his throat hot from the quick sprint across the Atrium hall. Maybe working that bag in at home wouldn't be a horrible idea.
The older, red-haired man exited before Benjamin could catch his breath. He was left alone in the lift, waiting. Not sure what he would say when he saw her. Or more importantly what she would think of seeing him here with no reason except an excuse of impulsivity.
"This is crazy," he thought to himself, "y'know just go send the letter and get outta here. Keep your head down, don't make any-"
The lift stopped, announced the floor, and when the gates opened his stomach tightened and chest fluttered. He didn't even have to look up. The aroma of pink guava, angelica blossoms, orange citrus, and a hint of woodsy musk created the sweet, comforting scent of-
"Ben- I mean, Mr. Hendrix," Hermione's sweet voice snapped his head up. She stood about ten feet from the lift with her hands full of papers and stacks of folders, looking more than busy but still offering a half smile. Her brown hair tamed pulled back in the same style of bun he had seen the last few times. She wore only a small amount of makeup, with a dark-grey, sleeveless blouse and matching knee-high skirt. A bright pair of white heels seemed to put only an inch or two on her height. He stepped out of the lift towards her, keeping his chest out and looking around for eavesdropping ears.
"Hey, how ya doin'? You need some help carrying these?" He took the folders from her hands before she could answer. Their hands brushed together during the exchange and Hermione's stomach also tightened and tingled.
"If you insist," she replied carefully, trying to not smile at his insistence on helping her. She caught her breath as he adjusted the items in his hands. She could not see his eyes due to his sunglasses, and for this she was thankful. She kept her own eyes down as his own rich, musky aroma, deep voice, and muscular forearms engulfed her senses. With her eyes still cast away from Benjamin, she discreetly scanned around the room for others, hoping none of her coworkers has caught her flustered.
"Where are we taking these?" Benjamin asked.
"I've just finished a meeting and was on my way to my office. Thank you for helping me," she answered, turning towards the hall that would lead to her office.
He stopped behind her, where an oak door reading HERMIONE GRANGER on a plague. "Cool door," he said quietly as she fiddled with the doorknob. Inside was a bit small. There were carefully labeled boxes and totes stacked around the office that were so neatly placed, the small space refused to give off a cluttered atmosphere.
Hermione walked around the desk, placed the papers on the near-bare desk, sat in her bright red, leather chair and offered her hand to Benjamin.
He gave her the folders one by one, allowing her to take them without looking up as she sorted them into three separate piles. After she placed the last folder, she looked up at him and offered him the singular chair in her office. It creaked a tad under his weight.
"What do you need, Mr. Hendrix?" Hermione asked rather politely. She pushed a fallen hair back behind her ear and she moved her eyes from Benjamin's, down to the folders, over to the papers, back to Benjamin.
"I came to owl off this letter but-"
"The owlery is downstairs, Mr. Hendrix. You would have passed the hall in the Atrium to get to the lifts." Hermione interrupted as she made a few marks in the papers in front of her.
"Yeah, but I saw your name on the board and figured maybe I'd, I don't know, come up and see you. Apologize for that first meeting, y'know I'm not usually a smart ass right off the bat." He clapped his hands together. He was seemingly a bit more confident this time around. He had his leg propped on his knee, back straight. She would cast her eyes up past the papers to catch him sitting there. In her office. She wasn't sure she could focus on her work with him here.
"It's okay, really. Do you have any other business to attend to on this floor, Mr. Hendrix?" She asked him quietly. A few more marks scribbled onto parchment.
"C'mon, call me Ben. Or Benjamin, whatever you like more, I never had much of a preference. What are ya doin' there, anything I can do?" He was leaning out of his chair, snooping his eyes onto her desk.
She dropped her quill and met his gaze. "Benjamin. Unless you know a qualified candidate to foster a Jarvey, no, I don't believe you can."
"I could give it a shot. How big is it, anyway? I'm good with animals, I always have been. Why, you can ask our mutual friend, Luna Lovegood. She could vouch for me." He boasted with a cheeky smile.
Hermione sighed and rubbed her temples. "There was a raid on an illegal breeding racket, ran by a man who was recently released from Azkaban. Now he's going back - and I hope he stays there this time. Those poor creatures." She breathed out with emotion.
Benjamin could see her distress. He quickly thought of a plan.
"How about this: you take this letter downstairs and get it mailed for me, and I'll take your Jarvey. Feel free to do a background check but you'll waste your resources."
"Is that it?" Hermione questioned. This seemed too easy of a trade off. He could easily drop the postage on his way out, and it would be easier than caring for a Jarvey for an indefinite amount of time. Not that they were difficult to care for, they can more-so be difficult to live with.
"No, not quite. I was hoping you wouldn't mind letting me take you out or something. Maybe, I don't know, this Friday?"
Hermione looked up at him. He was standing right in front of her desk, his face looking down, and his thumbs hooked in his front jean pockets. Blood rushed to her cheeks. She looked away again to avoid showing her blush. This Friday. This Friday was her trip to the Burrow. Her blush faded and her stomach dropped in an unpleasant way.
"I... I can't this Friday. I'll be with friends for the weekend. It's the one of the only things I regularly make time for these days. I'm sorry." She truly was. Thoughts of a date gave her a rush of excitement and lust. But she would never cancel on her friends for a gentleman she barely knew - and maybe not even if she did know him.
"It's no problem. I'll take a rain check then, just make sure the ink don't smear," he flashed a goofy smile at his own joke as she wrote details on a small piece of parchment. She handed it to him and he questioned the details. He pulled the envelope from the inner pocket of his jacket and placed it in her soft, dainty hand.
"You take it down the hall, give it to the receptionist, and she will take your information for our records. A delivery team will immediately be dispatched to your home address where they will do a quick home check to ensure the creature will be safe. If they deem it appropriate, they will leave it there in a cage for you."
"Wow, alright. That's pretty convenient, not having to lug a cage around all over the Ministry. Hey, I'm excited, though. I saw a care book in the reception hall, I'm going to pick one up on my way out so you know I mean business." He was still smiling as he began walking backwards out of her office.
Hermione's eyes softened as she returned the smile. "I'm looking forward to dropping in for a check."
"Oh yeah? You let me know when you plan to stroll through and I'll make sure I get to cut them vegetables up for you like I said I would."
"Thank you for taking the Jarvey." She told him.
He began shutting the door behind him as he replied, "It's no problem. I'll see you seen, huh?"
"Bye, Benjamin," she said before he shut the door and heard it click behind him.
He felt great. Better than he had in a long time. The receptionist took the parchment and he filled out some paperwork in swift time. He paid for the care guide and they both gave a smile and bid "thank you"s before he left for the lift.
He left the Ministry in a haste, wondering if he could beat the delivery of the Jarvey. As soon as he made it to the entrance of the Atrium hall, he apparated to just outside the apartment building. The black bricks were faded with age. The wrought iron and door seemed to show a few signs of neglect. Inside, there were two apartments downstairs and the one up top. He climbed the stairs and stuck the key in the door.
Immediately upon entering, he was greeted with a very spunky: "Gee, another one." Benjamin's brow furrowed as he glanced into the living room by his punching bag where a medium sized cage sat halfway covered. Inside, a grey, overgrown ferret sat on an appropriately sized bed. A few boring toys were scattered around the pen. A small water bottle and food bin were attached to the side of the cage.
"You gonna stare all day or are you gonna let me out?" The ferret glared at Benjamin.
He scoffed to himself as he locked his door behind him and sauntered towards the cage. He knelt down and unlocked it. The ferret pushed the door open forcefully and began sprinting around the apartment, bouncing across the couch and ricocheting off the walls and punching bag.
"Hey, settle down, why don't ya?" Benjamin hollered at the crazy creature.
"Get a life, why don't you?" The large ferret mocked his newly appointed caretaker.
"I'll put you back in that cage and send you back to the Ministry!" Benjamin threatened, getting in a crouched position to catch the flying creature.
The Jarvey sat on top of the kitchen table, paused. "You wouldn't."
"Oh, I would." Benjamin squinted his eyes and the Jarvey returned the challenge.
"Something tells me you wouldn't, greaser."
"Hey!" Benjamin lunged over the couch and towards the ferret that had jumped over him, onto his back, and now sat on top of a teetering punching bag.
The care guide book lay on the floor by the front door. Benjamin crawled towards it and began flipping through pages, searching for some sort of calming method. The only information he could find was a recipe for a Calming Tonic. Well, he didn't have time for all of this brewing nonsense!
He looked up from the book at the bouncing, overgrown ferret. "What do you want?! You're wrecking my apartment!"
"Perhaps if you had prepared for me you wouldn't be so hopeless!" The ferret countered.
Benjamin sighed. He gave up. He watched as the speed of the large ferret began to slow. An hour later, the Jarvey had settled into a spot on the couch, curled up and looking so innocent - you'd never imagine such a creature would wreak havoc the way Benjamin had just seen the past hour and a half.
Benjamin stood up, carefully, from his position on the floor. His knees and hips felt a bit stiff from sitting for so long but he'd rather feel physical pain than wake the Jarvey to continue his mayhem.
He flipped quietly through the care guide, looking for the pages regarding the creature's diet. "Rats, voles, moles, and Gnomes" were the most appropriate. Thankfully for the Jarvey, the area where Benjamin lived had plenty of rats for him to feed on.
Benjamin wondered into the kitchen and pulled a long piece of thin rope from a drawer filled with junk. He tied a slip knot and left a small loop. Using his cunning, he slipped it around the neck of the Jarvey, but not before it began to wake.
"Hey! Cheater!" The Jarvey exclaimed as it attempted to retreat away from the string now around his neck.
"Well, don't run. You don't want to choke yourself, I just wanted to take you outside to, I dunno, chase some rats?" Benjamin stated a bit unconvincing to himself.
"Rats?" The Jarvey repeated, ears perking up and nose now beginning to sniff around.
"Yeah, there's plenty in the alley. Look, I know your species aren't the most friendly. I can deal with smart comments, but I can't deal with a refusal of my responsibilities. I'm here to care for you until the Ministry can find you a permanent home."
"Hm." The Jarvey grumbled, leaping off the couch and standing beside Benjamin, though, not returning the eye contact.
"Alright then." Benjamin murmured under his breath. With that, the two walked out the door for some well-needed bonding.