Chapter 3
The next morning Harry awoke with two principal feelings - each vying for the paramount position in his mind - one, relief because someone else (besides Dumbledore) knew about his secret; and two, terror because someone else finally knew his secret.
He lay in bed - his brown hair spread out like a fan creating a slight contrast against his white pillow; the covers were brought up to his stomach - and he stared at his ceiling. At the moment, his mind was a whirlwind of emotions flying chaotically in every which way; completely paradoxical to his seemingly inability to move. He would honestly feel sorry for anyone if they should happen in stumble upon his brain in the process of Legilimency, seeing as how it was currently in a particularly jumbled state.
He groaned, knowing full well that he would eventually have to get up and hating the universe for reminding him of that unpleasant, rather miniscule detail when he would rather remain in blissful ignorance. Peeling himself out of bed would undoubtedly be extremely difficult…more so than usual.
In fact, it already was; generally, when his alarm went off, he would force open one sleepy eye, grunt and his right arm would defy gravity for a fleeting moment in time - at least until it plopped down again upon his electronic plastic "piece-of-junk" as he so lovingly called it (in the process of crawling out of his bed).
He typically only went through that incredibly grueling, unsavory process once; today, however, he went through his routine thrice before finally waking up enough to count the number of ceiling tiles he had.
It was simply one of those mornings where you'd give just about anything so that you would never to have to leave the warmth, comfort, and safety that was your bed.
He began thinking about possible excuses…which was a tad more difficult when you were a wizard as there were spells for practically every illness and disease known to mankind; and you obviously couldn't use "My car broke down," because Apparation was the dominant form of travel and easily done.
He continued brainstorming before he finally realized that he owned and was the President of his corporation (along with Draco); so really, the only people he had to convince were himself and Malfoy.
The Universe, however, didn't seem to be willing to allow him to get away from life that easily, as was evident by the sudden knocking sound that occurred.
A deep, guttural noise arose from deep within his throat in protest - or perhaps anger; he had yet to come up with an excuse to tell Draco - but he remained in bed without further acknowledging his roommate's presence outside of his door.
Agh…there it was again…that infernal knocking! It was a little more insistent this time too. Pulling the covers over his head, Harry stubbornly refused to own up to the existence of a world outside his bed. In his slightly dim, white world underneath his sheets, he heard a slight click and then the soft thudding of footsteps. The latter sound grew increasingly louder until, finally…they stopped. Harry clamped his eyes shut and braced himself for the inevitable.
Then, in one instantaneous flash of time, there was a quick succession of events; a sudden chill upon losing his source of warmth, the light somehow becoming brighter, and a loud whooshing sound filling the air. Harry groaned and pulled his legs towards his chest; he was cold and he desperately wanted his blanket back.
"Rise and shine, Wizard King!" sang a decidedly obnoxious voice, "Or, would that be Lizard King?"
"Urgh," Harry groaned as he dug his face deeper into the mattress. "Sod off, Malfoy."
"Can't, mate…it's my solemn duty as your roommate to annoy you incessantly until you're fully awake."
"Well, it doesn't really matter today, ferret-boy. I'm staying home."
"You know, I resent that remark. That incident happened over 10 years ago," Draco defended himself and then added, "I am certainly no longer a boy."
Harry opened one sleepy eye to gape at his roommate who, as he just recently decided, was most definitely going insane.
"Oh, yeah, and you're not missing work today."
"I'm an adult, Malfoy. I'm pretty sure I can decide that for myself."
"Okay," said Draco, as he turned to the door, "but I should probably remind you that we have a new employee today."
Harry cursed and immediately leapt out of bed as though he had seen the snitch. He ran into his bathroom and proceeded to get ready.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Minutes later, Harry stood in his closet with only a towel wrapped around his waist and his still wet hair dripping beads of water on his chest and the floor. His mind was a complete and utter blank as to what he should wear today. He finally decided he desperately needed help. "Draco!" he yelled.
Half a minute later, his roommate entered the closet, a cup of coffee in his hand.
"What?" Draco asked, a tinge of annoyance in his voice.
"What do I wear today?"
Draco immediately smirked. "Why the sudden interest in your attire, Potter?"
"Don't be a prat, Malfoy. Come on…what should I wear?"
Draco laughed and glanced at the contents in Harry's closet. Finally, after a minute he said, "Just go business cas. Those khakis, that dark blue shirt, that brown belt, and those brown shoes."
Harry grinned happily. "Perfect!"
Draco shrugged. "Of course," he replied, "Knowledge of fashion is a must when one is rich."
"Right…" Harry said. "As much as I'm dying to know the rules of being rich, I have to finish getting ready. Thank you for your help, now get out."
"Well, excuse me, your Majesty. Sorry I didn't sprinkle rose petals for you."
"Sod off, Malfoy."
"Ahh…the phrase of the day," Draco remarked as he left the closet to leave Harry in peace.
*~*~*~*~*
"Morning, Ginny!"
"Hey, Mia," Ginny replied. "Draco called earlier and said that he and James are running a little late and that James will show you your office when he gets here."
"Oh, okay. Thanks," Mia said as she watched Ginny lean over some more paperwork. She stood there awkwardly, not exactly knowing what to do until Ginny finally noticed.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Mia! Sit down…talk…keep me company!"
Mia quirked an eyebrow at Ginny and said, "You're so weird," but she took a seat anyway.
"What's so bad about being weird? I, for one, think that it makes life more interesting."
Mia smirked. "Oh, it makes life more interesting all right."
Ginny narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Shut up."
Mia began to say something else but the flurry of noise that suddenly arose alerted her to the presence of James and Draco. She stood up and stepped out of the cubicle only to see several heads bobbing around.
"Mr. Hart! I need your signature for this form!"
"Mr. Malfoy, can you sign off on this order for me?"
A few minutes and a couple of dozen requests later, James finally managed to get to Mia who was patiently leaning against a door.
He grinned. "Ready to see your office?"
"As I'll ever be," she replied, "Where is it?"
"Right behind-" he started, but was interrupted.
"Mr. Hart!"
"Quick!" he whispered as he reached over to open the door Mia had been leaning on and then, he gently grabbed her arm, pulling her into the room and deftly closing the door behind him.
They both leaned up against the door, their hearts beating wildly from their minor adventure, when Mia began laughing for no real reason.
"Shh," James reproached her, rather unsuccessfully as he too was beginning to laugh. They laughed a little longer before they both finally regained control of themselves. James said, "Well, this is it."
For the first time, Mia glanced around her new office. Her gaze gently covered the room and she took in the sight before her. It was…perfect. There was no other word for it. The carpeting was a rich, deep blue color, two walls were painted cornflower blue, and there were light color pine baseboards running along the perimeter of the room. But, the highlight of the office, in Mia's eyes, were the bookshelves; they went floor to ceiling, covering the length of the walls and running parallel to each other. One side had already been crammed with books covering a multitude of subjects and the other side was empty…patiently waiting for its turn to be filled.
Mia moved over to the empty bookshelf and ran her hand gently over the wood. Her gaze couldn't stop moving over the room as she wanted to see everything there was in the room.
"Do you like it?" James asked.
Mia answered breathlessly. "Yes, it's…it's incredible." She turned and looked at James. "It's how I always imagined my office to be."
James smiled. "There's more."
Mia laughed in disbelief. "What?"
"Yeah," James replied as he walked towards the opposite wall. "Right through this door," he said as he opened the door and stood back to let Mia through.
As she passed the threshold, James said, "Your laboratory."
Mia gasped. "Oh, wow! This is great! This has everything I need!"
"Well, that's good…because we need you to get started as soon as you can."
She laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"
"I don't know," James replied, "but I have a meeting in a few minutes so I have to get going. Just…uh…get yourself settled in your office and start working when you can. I'll see you later." He turned to leave, but Mia called out.
"Hey, James…thanks."
He smiled. "You're welcome."
*~*~*~*~*
Ginny was sitting at her desk looking over some papers and writing a few notes when she heard a light rapping sound. She looked over towards the opening in her cubicle to see her silver-eyed boss looking back at her. Smiling, she put her pen down on her desk and leaned back in her chair. "Ahh, Mr. Malfoy, can I help you?"
"You know, I'm not really sure," he replied as he sat himself down in a chair on the other side of Ginny's desk, "I was wondering if you could help me find someone."
"Oh," Ginny said as she moved her chair closer to her desk and leaned forward placing her arms upon the flat surface. "I see. Well, do you have a name for this…person?"
"No, I can't say that I have her name."
"Well, you're gonna have to give me something if you want me to find this woman. Do you know anything about her?"
"Well," Draco answered, "She's gorgeous. She's about five feet, six inches tall, has red hair down to her shoulders, adorable freckles on her nose, and the most beautiful voice."
"Oh?" Ginny replied, catching on to Draco's game but playing along. "No…I can't say I know anyone who fits that description."
"Really? That's a shame. We were supposed to have dinner this Saturday, but I can't seem to remember where we were going to meet. Come to think of it, I'm fairly sure we hadn't gone over that detail."
"Hmm…that is a shame." Ginny smirked as she stood up, grabbed some files, and moved to leave her office.
Draco stood up and followed her as well. "Where are you going?"
Ginny glanced back over her shoulder. "I have some papers to deliver. You're welcome to tag along if you want."
Draco pursed his lips, obviously not happy with the way this was going. However, he didn't say anything; he just bided his time and continued to follow the youngest Weasley. Finally, his opportunity came as they passed his office; he looked around to make sure no one was watching, opened his door and swiftly pulled Ginny into the room with him, shutting the door behind him.
"Tag along, huh? I don't tag along," Draco said a hint of teasing in his voice.
"Oh? My mistake then," Ginny said as she shrugged as began to move past Draco to the door.
Draco laughed. "Come here, you little tart!"
Ginny laughed as well as she felt his arms wrap around her waist and gently turn her to face him. Her eyes found his and saw a playful glint residing among his silver irises. "So, you couldn't remember my name?"
"Ahh! I thought you resembled her!" Draco exclaimed.
"Hmm," Ginny said, "you're evil."
"Maybe," Draco shrugged. "But you're fairly evil as well…and a good kisser, I might add."
"Am I? Well, I'm glad to know that," Ginny replied as she moved towards Draco.
Draco summarily covered the rest of the distance and kissed her, his arms placed on her hips. Ginny moved her arms up and rested them on Draco's shoulders, one hand finding the back of his head and gently playing with his hair.
As much as they would have loved to continue, a knock at the door interrupted them. They quickly moved apart as the door opened and James' head popped in.
"Dra-" he began to say, but stopped upon seeing Ginny. "Oh, hey, Ginny. I didn't know you were in here." He noted the slight blush that arose on Ginny's cheeks, but didn't say anything.
"Well," Ginny said as she looked at Draco, "it looks like James needs to talk to you so I'll just come by later this morning to get you to sign those forms I was talking about."
"That sounds good to me," Draco replied.
Ginny picked up the papers that she had earlier dropped onto Draco's couch and quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her.
James looked at Draco curiously with the beginnings of a smile twitching at his lips. "Did I miss something?"
"Yes," Draco replied, "but then again, that's not new for you."
James ignored that remark and asked, "When did this happen?"
Draco cleared his throat. "Last night…now, don't we have a meeting to attend?" he replied briskly as he moved past James and opened the door.
James raised a singular eyebrow in amusement. "Lead the way," he replied as he followed Draco to the board room for their daily morning meeting with the company committee.