::Findings::
Hermione was speed walking down the crowded street towards her firm, her muggle cell phone resting in the palm of her hand, getting ready to dial Harry's number in England. Her black Armani jacket, which covered her baby blue tuxedo blouse, and pants were flapping in the numbingly cold winter wind, and the heels of her round toed black boots clicking nosily as she turned the corner swiftly.
"Oaf!" she grunted as she smashed into broad shoulders.
She wrinkled her nose at the man drenched in raunchy smelling cologne. She lifted her head up and squinted. The man was down right nasty. Oh, he was clean-shaven, and very easy on the eyes, but Hermione had dealt with men like him. She was dealing with one right now, an ex-old vicious client that got pleasure out of touching little girls.
Hermione had represented this man for nearly a year before his wife had wanted a divorce. It was so sudden; Hermione thought they had been happy. She also thought she had been representing a man that had just been in the wrong place and the wrong time during a drug bust. After settling that case her client said he didn't need her talents anymore and she was dismissed. To Hermione's surprise the mans' wife had called her about the divorce. Hermione had gone over to settle the matters without an appointment, for the main reason of her not being a divorce lawyer, simply because the couple had become somewhat of friends to her and had only found his wife home cradling their four year old daughter. When Joann, the wife, had shown Hermione the doctor's results lead pierced her heart and thick bile rose up in her throat. She had run to the bathroom, threw up her lunch, and when it was all out she had continued to heave. She couldn't believe it and she just sat there for hours talking with Joann and caressing Caitlin's, Jo's daughter, cheeks. Before Hermione had left she promised to put him away for a long time. Hermione was now representing Joann…for free.
A strand of her curly wet, chocolate brown hair flew into her face as she rubbed her red, freezing nose. "Whoa, careful there honey!" the man laughed, holding her shoulders.
Hermione jerked away and started walking.
"Hey baby! What's the rush? You look like you could use a good time…"
She stopped, closed her phone, and bowed her head, her back facing the man. "Oh and you think you're man enough to show me that good time?" her voice held a warning edge.
Hermione flipped around and glared, giving her threatening look that she had come to master over the years of being the best lawyer in her city. New York City. No one messed with her.
The oak green-eyed man, with his black hair pulled back into a ponytail, and his suit instantly frowned and held his hands up. "Whatever! What an anal…" he started to say, but he trailed off as he continued his journey down the road.
Being a lawyer made her turn away from men, from everything, made her heart cold, probably because of everything she'd dealt with. The capabilities of men were endless. Of course she couldn't put every man in the category, but she was a lawyer and she needed to stay tough. It had made her hardcore…but then again she was grateful for it because she knew there would only ever be one man for her.
The lightening scared, best friend she hadn't seen in over ten years.
When Hermione had finished Hogwarts, at the top of her class, she had gone home to her parents for the summer, after the celebration she shared with Harry and Ron, which ended with Hermione walking in on Harry and Cho having sexual relations. Harry hadn't understood why Hermione had been so upset about it, but she just simply told him to forget about it and waved it off. That was pretty much the last time she'd talked to him. She hadn't cut him off intentionally or Ron for that matter. She had even written them a few times during the summer, but when she had gotten home from that party her parents had presented her with something she needed to heavily research and think about.
Her mother had handed her a brochure from three well-known muggle colleges, Oxford, Yale, and Harvard. Hermione told them she wanted to be an Auror. She explained to them the extent of her research on the job and confirmed that it was definitely what she wanted to do. They had said they were fine with that, but made a request that she look into the college brochures they had given her before she finalized her decision. By the end of the summer Hermione had made her decision. She wanted to go into Law and within a week, simply because of her fathers' connection at the school, she'd hopped on her flight to attend Harvard. She'd managed one last letter telling Ron and Harry of her change in career choice. They'd written back in shock. Hermione wasn't the type to change her mind with only three months of research, but she had stated in that last letter that her choice was a gut feeling and for once she was going to follow it without doing massive research.
Hermione jerked herself out of her thoughts. "You are stalling Granger!" she hissed at herself.
With a deep breath she proceeded to walk flicking her phone open again and slowly redialing Harry's number.
"Hello! You've reached the Pothead residence," Ron's voice came from Harry's machine, followed by Harry's. "Ron? What are you doing?"
"Nothing Harry!"
"Hey! Stop that! You don't know what you're doing! You're going to break it Ron!" Harry's voice yelled, sounding as if he'd been far away when Ron had done this.
"Leave your name, number, and message and I'll only get back to you if you're one of my many hot girl admirers!" Ron's voice laughed hysterically.
"RON!" Harry's last yell was cut off as his answering machine beeped.
Hermione snorted. ""Harry, Ron, it's Hermione…you are NOT going to believe what I found! I know we haven't seen, or even talked to each other for over ten years now. Sort of an 'out of the blue' call I know! I think it's finally time for a reunion, and it's really a perfect time, Christmas and all. I'll understand if you guys can't come, considering the short notice, but I do miss you. Anyhow, I'll be staying at the Bed Knobs and Broom Hotel just on the outside of Diagon Alley. I should be there within day and a half. Meet you there, say, Thursday around five in the afternoon? It's Wednesday the 15th and I'm going to say December just in case. If you can come, meet me at the pet shop where I got Crookshanks…gods I haven't been there in forever. Um, it's really important! Well love you lots! Bye!"
Hermione's heart fluttered with a silent hope and a bundle of nerves. "I hope they come," she whispered as she swung the door open.
"Morning Miss Granger. THAT thing called again. He says he refuses to get another lawyer. He wants you representing him. Say's you have a legal obligation to represent him…he's stating you did a breach of contract.
Hermione snorted and shook her head. "He doesn't even know what that means the stupid twit! You tell him he needs to learn to not skip the fine print at the bottom of contracts. Tell that bastard I only represent the innocent and that he shouldn't have molested his daughter! That rotten pig!" she added in disgust. "Ditch the last part! I don't need to have verbal assault going against me in court."
Maya smiled at her boss. "I was going to anyway!"
Hermione gave her a smile. "Maya, check list!"
She flipped a long piece of tan paper in the air. "Got it all ready."
Hermione walked hurriedly over to the file cabinet. "Canceled all meetings?"
"Check."
"Got me out of that horrible business dinner with Judge Brian?"
"Check. You know 'Mione, he isn't so bad."
Hermione, who'd been flipping through the files, paused and lifted an eyebrow at her assistant. "What are you talking about?"
Maya sighed. "When they ask you out for a 'business dinner' what they're really trying to say is 'I want to date you…what do you say?' And he's kind of cute in an…awkward sort of way."
Hermione snorted and pulled out Darien Anders file, a teenager that was going to be sent to Juvie Hall because he'd gotten hauled in on a bum rap. "He's not my type first of all, and second of all he's ten years my senior!"
"But he's rich, and handsome, and very nice…" Maya continued.
Hermione gritted her teeth getting slightly annoyed. "I'll tell you what, you have him. Canceled my brunch with my parents?"
Maya lifted her deep indigo doe eyes, which were surrounded by charcoal black eyelashes, and eyebrows that matched her midnight dark, shiny hair. "Canceled. Is everything okay?"
Hermione paused from her high-speed walk to her office. "No, it's just…well do you remember me having a coronary in the library when you had come along with me to do research for that woman that did double jeopardy on her husband?"
"Yes. I'll never get over our little library adventures!" Maya sighed sarcastically.
Hermione flipped Darien's file onto Maya's desk and bent down to meet her gaze. "That diary…was my best friends' dead mothers diary. His parents died when he was a baby and all he knew was bits and pieces of their life. Not enough to give him the full picture you know. Anyhow, you already know about me leaving for London at the crack of dawn tomorrow right? Well this best friend of mine was-"
Maya smiled and tucked her perfect black hair behind her ears. "The love of your life?"
Hermione stood up slowly and shrugged. "Well, technically it was a one-sided dealio. He never knew my feelings, and he still doesn't to this day. I mean I'm not even sure if I still have feelings for him after all these years, but every time I speak his name out loud, even in my head, butterflies just flit around in my stomach."
"That's wonderful," Maya said dreamily.
Hermione chuckled slightly. "You milady, are just way too romantic!"
"Well one of us has to be!"
"I'll let that comment slide. So, how's our boy doing?" Hermione asked.
"Not so well. His mother threatened to kick him out."
Hermione, who'd been sipping her hot cup of Chamomile tea, choked slightly. "She still doesn't believe what I told her?"
"No, she believes all the evidence you've produce for Darien, it's just that he used that hot wiring skill those boys taught him, on his step fathers brand new Mercedes and sort of drove it into a phone booth."
"What?" Hermione asked in shock.
"They got in a fight and Jerry hit him upside the head. Darien freaked yelling the basics, you're not my father blah, blah, blah…and he's kind of in jail at the moment. They've posted a very small bail, and Terry's going to go get him out, but she demands you be there to knock some sense into him!"
Hermione cringed. "Terry is a wonderful friend and mother, but that woman could put fear into the devil…why does she need me?"
"She stated simply that Darien has a crush on you!"
Hermione snorted non-too lady like. "Please! He is a seventeen-year-old boy. I'm a twenty-seven-year old woman who's only dated like what a total of five guys in her entire life and I also have no life. Hell he probably has more experience than I do."
Maya shook her head. "Without a doubt! And you do so have a life…not a dating life, or a very good social life-"
"I get the picture," Hermione's spoke in a monotone non-amused, voice. "I have a working life," she added.
"Yeah," Maya smiled awkwardly.
"I'm so pathetic," Hermione whispered shaking her head.
"No you aren't. You're just a picky person that needs to give a full screening to every guy you meet! What did those guys do to you anyhow?"
"Absolutely nothing…damaging anyway. After Viktor, my first boyfriend, well it's when I started having feelings for Harry, and then I started fantasizing of-things, and after three years of all that I realized I loved him. I never once had the guts to tell him. The other guys I dated, they were just big disappointments," Hermione sighed and brought her mug of warm tea to her lips.
Maya shook her head in understanding. "Because they didn't live up to your best friend. I think this Harry character could be your other half-" Maya started.
Hermione gave a shout of laughter. "Do not start with me miss 'Oh gods this one is my other half for sure this time…' then two weeks later 'he just wasn't the one'."
"It wasn't my fault I ditched Eric. He didn't like my cooking."
"Maya, honey, no offense, but no one likes your cooking!"
Maya scoffed. "I do."
"Because you have a stomach of steel!" Hermione laughed.
"Fine, fine! Well you better scoot over to the jail house before Terry has a conniption fit!"
Hermione sighed heavily and reached for her cell and brief case. "Yeah, yeah!"
With her cup of tea in hand she waved to Maya. "Seeya!"
Maya had met Hermione in a small café just slightly beyond Central Park. Her black haired friend hand shuddered in fear as Hermione sat down next to her asking if she was okay. Maya had had a long sleeve shirt and a pair of glasses on. The moment she saw the girl Hermione had known something was wrong. After a couple hours of talking about random things Hermione asked if she was staying close by somewhere and that she would walk her home. Maya had bowed her head and said, "I'm-I don't have any where to go."
Hermione instantly offered one of her spare rooms in her slightly run-down apartment and after a couple of weeks of Maya staying there they had become extremely good friends and Maya had finally been able to tell Hermione about how she ran from her abusive boyfriend.
Hermione had saved Maya's life in more than one way. She had started out by sitting with the girl in a café, then offering her a home when she hadn't had one, then saving her from the crazed man she had once called her boyfriend.
The guy had found out where she'd been staying and busted through the window. Luckily Hermione had just come home from the bank, she had been trying to get a loan to start her own firm, and had heard Maya screaming. She'd ran up the stairs, not even bothering with the elevator, and pulled out her mace before she kicked open her door.
"Get out of here!" she screamed.
"Mace? Oh please!" he sneered.
Hermione pushed the tiny red button on the side of her mace holder and a shiny silver knife had popped out. "You don't really want me to use this on you do you and if this doesn't scare you all I have to do is turn my arm behind my back and get my .22 caliber-"
"Alright! I'll leave. This isn't over Maya!"
Hermione dropped to the floor when he exited, holding her rapidly beating heart. "That was close."
Maya chocked on a sob. "D-do you really have a gun?"
"No! It was all bluff! I don't have time to go through the registering and license process to own one! Let alone the cost of a gun! I can barely afford food at the moment…at the moment," Hermione paused then lifted her head to smile at her friend. "I got the loan!"
Maya started laughing. "That's wonderful!"
"Yep! We'll be out of here in no time. Those personal assistant classes you've been taking was the perfect choice because I want you to be my PA!"
"Are you serious?"
Hermione grinned. "Yes! Of course! I mean our little fun outings to the library wouldn't be so fun if you didn't come a long with me! I would have never of guessed that doing research with a partner would be so fun!"
"I can't believe you think it's fun!" Maya cringed shaking her head. "I only go with you because I get to see that hot librarian man all clad in leather when he leaves on his Harley! Vroom…and yum!"
Hermione shook her head.
After that Hermione had taken Maya down to the police station and left with a restraining order and a warrant of arrest for Maya's ex. The police had arrested him, the scumbag had pretended to not know what was going on pretended to act all innocent, but in the end he was charged with attempted murder, he had tried chocking Maya with a wire, attempted rape, breaking and entering, and destruction of personal property. He got ten years in prison.
Hermione had barely even realized, that while caught up in her thoughts, the cab driver that she had whistled for outside of her firm almost had her at the police station. Once the yellowish dirty cab pulled to a stop Hermione dug into her pocket and handed him a twenty-dollar bill.
"Keep the change! Thanks!"
The grubby cab driver waved her thanks off. "No thank you!"
She failed to answer as she practically ran into the station swinging doors and immediately her eyes trained on Darien's mother Terry. "Hey Terr!"
Terry sighed in relief. "Oh! I'm so glad you came down Hermione! Now, before I take him out I want to scare him a little longer and let you talk to him."
Hermione gave a salute, greeted the Chief of Police. He explained in detail what would need to be done and what would happen to Darien and then he'd walked over to open the door. They'd walked through the silver metal plated door and then down a line of nighters, cokeheads, a few prostitutes that seemed to be a couple of regulars. The Chief stopped in front of Darien's cell and pulled the bars open. Hermione, not needing an invite, walked in and sat in front of the frowning, upset boy.
"Darien why did you do this?" Hermione asked softly.
"He hit me!" he started softly at first then his furious green eyes jerked up and his once neatly combed blonde hair flipped up making it look as if it had been feathering through the wind for some time. "He has no right to touch me! He's not my father and until he gets married to my mother he has no legal claim to me which means he has no right to touch me."
Hermione took a deep breath. "Now, was it an abusive hit, or a scolding hit? You mother tells me you were mouthing off to her?"
He cast his eyes down again, his cheeks flushed with anger. "It was a scolding hit…but it should have been my mother since I was mouthing off to her not him!"
"Darien? Do you know what could happen if your stepfather pressed charges, or if the people that were in the town did? You would be swamped with charges that a seventeen-year-old boy shouldn't have to worry about. Disturbing the piece, stealing, driving without a license-"
Darien glared at his curled legs. "I have my license!"
Hermione sighed. "Yes but the state took it away. You are not legally able to drive until your twenty-first birthday! You know, I wouldn't be surprised if they revoked it this time!"
Darien turned his head away from Hermione. "I won't do it again," he whispered. "Just…I hate him! He thinks he owns me!"
"Well I have some good news for you…no one is pressing charges, the insurance is paying for all the damages and you'll have a pretty hefty couple of tickets to pay off. Now about your court date for that bum rap you got hauled in on…"
He lifted his eyes up waiting for Hermione to continue.
"The court date has been moved to January 14th so when I get back from England we'll have a two whole weeks to get you pepped up for it okay?"
"You're leaving?" he asked his voice shaking with fear.
Hermione shook her head and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I have to go to a tiny reunion. I'll be staying in England until January 2nd."
"You don't believe me do you? When I say it was a set up?" he whispered softly.
"Darien I wouldn't be representing you if I didn't believe you were telling me the truth. I only take innocent clients!"
He smiled softly. "Okay…um have fun! How are Joann and Janie?"
"They're doing pretty good. Staying with Jo's parents and they have a body guard until the court case and custody battle happen."
"Really? How'd they get the money for a body guard if that bas-err sorry, if that idiot man had everything in his name?"
"I'm paying him!" Hermione said simply.
Darien smiled. "You're a good person!"
"I had great friends, great parents, and great experiences…you have most of those, but your friends, sweetie, you just don't hang around people who hotwire cars and jump people in alleyways. Promise me you'll do better?"
"I'll try!"
Hermione pierced her lips. "You'll try?"
"I promise I'll do better!" he grinned boyishly, looking into his lap.
"Good!" Hermione chucked him gently under the chin.
"What are they going to do with me?" he asked suddenly as she got up.
Hermione turned and wrapped her arms around her chest. "Well you're probably grounded for life," she teased and he smiled half-heartedly. "Probation until the hearing and you'll have to do some community work for the area you crashed into."
"Not so bad I guess," he mumbled. "Letting me off pretty easy aren't they?"
"Yes, and it hardly ever happens. You got lucky next time you probably won't be so lucky! So shape up! I'll see you in a couple of weeks."
"Bye."
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Ron pushed the front door open to the flat he and Harry shared. "Gods was that a great dinner or what? Man I can't wait until Christmas! Mom makes those candid yams, homemade noodles…oh man my mouth is watering already! And too think I missed it all those years because I was at Hogwarts."
They had just come back from their weekly Wednesday dinner at the Weasley's. The entire red-headed bunch got together every Wednesday, the only exception of not coming would be if someone was out of town or in another country, and Molly Weasley would cook up a huge delicious meal fit for a king and complain that her kids, including Harry, didn't eat enough.
"Oh look!" Ron pointed. "Blinking red number means messages right?"
Harry shook his head. "Ron, we have had that thing since we moved in together eight years ago and still you can't work it! Hell those girls that you bring in get it in two days, and you have a new one every week!"
"Harry! Speak for yourself, you're just as bad as I am!" Ron scoffed. "Now, make that bloody thing talk!"
Harry growled. "I'll do this for you one more time! You push the button that says talk! See simple!"
"You got something wrong with your voice? Or are you trying to make yourself sound stupid."
Harry threw his hands in the air. "I give up! Go into the kitchen and put the ice cream and chips away!"
Ron shook his head in disgust. "Harry you need to get laid! When was the last time anyhow?"
"Last week!"
"Yeah, I guess your stamina just isn't as good as mine!"
"Oh please Rudolph, I-"
Ron shushed him and patted his cold red nose. "Yeah, yeah, yeah…I'm sure!"
Harry took his classes off and cleaned the lenses. "You're such a prat! You know, some of us actually have a heart!"
"Now, now, no name callings!" Ron hollered from the kitchen.
Harry shook his head and smiled. He slipped his classes back up his nose and rubbed his frozen hands together as he stripped his winter coat and scarf off of him and dusted the white snowflakes all over the front step.
"Are we going out tonight?" Ron asked.
"Not tonight, I have to go Christmas shopping," Harry called back as he pushed the talk button.
"Harry darling, it Vanny! Vanessa! I just wanted to tell you that last Saturday night was…" she giggled crazily. "Wonderful! I want to get 'together' again. Call me! I left my number on a napkin in your kitchen."
Harry pushed the erase button and jinxed the black machine. "Message erased."
Harry rolled his green eyes into the back of his head as another message beeped in.
"Ron baby, its Rac-"
"Message erased," the answering machine piped up.
Harry smiled slyly at his best friend who'd ran over to the machine as if his life depended on it and slammed his hand down on the erase button. "I think that's the only button you remember! Who was that?"
"That girl with the annoying hyena laugh?" Ron grimaced. "She was great in bed and all, but a guy can only take so much!" he added and swigged a huge gulp of his bottled Butter Bear. "What was wrong with Vanessa?"
"She did this irritating as all hell thing where she twirled her hair around her finger. She was trying to be sexy and cute…it didn't work!"
Ron gave him a confused look. "That's it? She was hot! I can't believe that annoyed you. I mean Ginny does it all the time when she's reading in the family room!"
Harry rubbed his hands together and blew in them. "That's different Ginny wasn't trying to be cute or sexy, she did it sub-consciously and I also wasn't having sex with her!"
"I bloody well hope you weren't! I'd have to kick your ass!" Ron grinned. "And anyhow Ginny's well over her crush on you. She's dug her claws into someone else, and damn it all I can't figure it out!" he turned his head to think.
"Crap messages from girls we don't even remember!" Harry complained.
Ron went to erase the next one.
Harry paused and crinkled his eyes, shaking his head. "We should be ashamed of ourselves!"
"Harry, Ron, it's Hermione…"
Harry smashed Ron's hand away from the erase button. "Wait! Rewind it!"
"Harry, Ron, it's Hermione…you are NOT going to believe what I found! I know we haven't seen, or even talked to each other for over ten years now. Sort of an 'out of the blue' call I know! I think it's finally time for a reunion, and it's really a perfect time, Christmas and all. I'll understand if you guys can't come, considering the short notice, but I do miss you. Anyhow, I'll be staying at the Bed Knobs and Broom Hotel just on the outside of Diagon Alley. I should be there within day and a half. Meet you there, say, Thursday around five in the afternoon? It's Wednesday the 15th and I'm going to say December just in case. If you can come, meet me at the pet shop where I got Crookshanks…gods I haven't been there in forever. Um, it's really important! Well love you lots! Bye!"
Harry and Ron stood in a semi-two-circle around the message machine, staring at it in wonder.
"Sh-she sounds good," Harry whispered softly his eyes wide with surprise.
"Yeah," Ron replied equally surprised.
Harry shook his head and grinned. "What a way to say 'hi' after ten years huh?"
Ron gave a small laugh. "I know right?"
Harry gave a soft smile. "Just like our 'Mione!"
Ron shook the remaining melted snowflakes out of his hair. "Fam's going to want to see her. I'm going to Floo over!" Ron said starting to get excited.
"Alright," Harry said still standing by the machine as he heard Ron yell "Mum and Dad's."
Harry hit the rewound button. "Harry, Ron, it's Hermione…"
When it finished he rewound it again and did so about twenty full times before he heard a bang and Ron starting to cough.
"You still at that answering machine?" Ron asked still hacking.
Harry bowed his head and rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses. "It's just good to hear her voice after ten years is all."
Ron leaned against the entryway in the kitchen eyeing his best friend. "How many times did you listen to it?"
"Three times," he lied.
"Yeah! Right!" Ron shook his head. "Well you go do your damn shopping and I'll go to my room and wait for my beautiful lusty blonde girlie buddy to come over. I'll be using the 'do not disturb' sign tonight."
"Hottie then?" Harry asked raising his eyebrow.
Ron wiggled his eyebrows playfully. "I never use the sign unless she is indeed!"
Harry bowed his head in shame. "You're a pig!"
Ron lifted his bottle of Butter Bear up. "That maybe so, but I'm a cute one!"
"Stop telling yourself lies man!"
"Jealous?" Ron jerked his head up and walked up the steps. "Harry! I want a tub of chocolate frogs and a new broom for this coming up season of Quidditch!"
"Yeah Ron, that's the way to hint!" Harry shook his head as he once again put his coat, scarf, and gloves on, and then headed out into the snow. "I can't wait to see her," he whispered.
To Be Continued…