Disclaimer: I own nothing that has anything to do with Harry Potter. All that stuff belongs to JK Rowling. I just wanted to play in her world a bit to make mine seem more fun.
Chapter 4
Hermione woke at 6:58, two minutes before her alarm was set to wake her. "Thank Merlin it's Friday" she muttered, getting out of bed, careful not to disturb Desse. She got into the shower, letting the hot water fall over her in an attempt to be awakened more fully.
Twenty minutes later, Hermione headed into her kitchen, wrapped in a fluffy robe. She paid the awaiting owl for the Daily Prophet and settled to read it while sipping her morning coffee.
When she was done, she headed back to her bedroom to finish getting ready for work; she dried and styled her hair with a spell and changed into a knee-length skirt and a crisp button-down shirt, her favorite work attire. After adding a bit of make-up, she grabbed her bag and wand and Apparated to the Ministry of Magic, arriving at 8:00 on the dot.
"Hey, Mark," she called to the person sitting in the office next to hers.
"Morning, Hermione," he shot back. "There's an owl on your desk. I tried to take the message, but she wouldn't let me."
"That's odd," Hermione remarked. "Thanks, Mark. I'll be in my office if anyone needs me."
"Ok," Mark replied, turning back to what he was working on.
Hermione walked into her office and noticed a pure snowy owl, waiting patiently, perched on the desk.
"Hey girl," Hermione said softly, reaching out to touch the downy soft feathers. The owl hooted in appreciation and stuck her leg out. Hermione retrieved the letter and gave her a few treats.
Hermione opened the parchment and smiled at the contents. 'Good morning! If it's ok, I'd like to stop by to get the ticket from you this afternoon. Just send a reply with Hedwig and I'll meet you then. -Harry.'
Hermione felt her face flush as she recalled last night and tore off the bottom to scribble an answer. 'Good morning to you too! You can come by this afternoon. I have a meeting, but it should be over by 1:00 and the rest of the afternoon looks free. I'm on Level 7, but I'm sure you already knew that. Let me know if there are any changes. -Hermione.' She tied the letter to Hedwig's leg and watched the beautiful bird fly out the window.
Hermione looked at her 'IN' box and the pile of papers on the corner of her desk and sighed deeply. "Time to get to work," she mumbled, settling in and grabbing the first sheet.
She worked straight through until 10:50, organizing the information she had with the research she had gathered the day before, only taking a break to stretch a bit to get the circulation going again in her feet.
At 10:55, Hermione collected all the notes and data she'd acquired and made her way across the hall, to the office of Ludo Bagman, Head of her department. He was a huge Quidditch fan and extremely well-known, having played Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps in his younger days. This was both a blessing and a curse, as he was very excited about the tournament, but he was so scatter-brained and unorganized, it made more work for those under his supervision. Hermione and her colleagues liked to joke and say his behavior was due to being hit in the head too many times with a Bludger.
Bagman strolled into his old office, old Quidditch robes billowing behind him, promptly at 11:05 and once again, Hermione wondered why he even bothered to set a time for their meetings; he was always late, no matter what.
"Hello people!" Bagman bellowed.
"Um, Ludo," Hermione began tentatively, "there are only five of us in here. There's no need to shout."
"I know that. I was just trying to get liven you all up!" he shouted in reply. "Get you over the hump of the week, known as Wednesday!"
"Ludo, it's Friday," Mark cut in. "That's why we're all here. It's our weekly Friday 11:00 meeting."
"I knew that," Bagman dismissed loftily.
'Oh boy,' Hermione thought, exchanging a look with Ian, another co-worker. 'This is going to be a long and probably pointless meeting.'
Sure enough, almost two hours later and nothing had been mentioned about the tournament. Ludo was too busy regaling tales of his playing days, with snippets of the 1994 TriWizard Tournament thrown in. Hermione was fidgety, Ian was twirling his quill, Mark was drumming his fingers and Jacob was falling asleep in his chair.
"Hey, did I ever tell you guys about…" Bagman droned on.
Hermione had had enough. "Are we going to discuss anything about this exhibition? Because if we're not, I propose this meeting be adjourned."
Everyone stopped, mid-tale, twirl and snore at Hermione's outburst. She was never one to complain or talk out of turn and it took them all by surprise.
"So, are we done here?" she persisted.
Bagman nodded his head slowly, still in shock.
"Good. I will talk with you all later." With that, Hermione grabbed her belongings and walked out the door.
She entered her office and slammed everything on her desk. "Stupid Bagman. Spent my entire day off getting all this rubbish together. Didn't even bother to thank me. How did that wanker get to be head of a department?" she ranted to herself.
"I ask myself that very question every time I talk to him," a voice chimed in.
Hermione gave a start and gaped at her visitor. Harry was standing in the doorway, leaning his upper body on the frame, arms crossed, smirk present and accounted for, looking very casual and damn sexy. Hermione felt her face flush and she mentally scolded herself for thinking that way.
"You know, pink is a good colour on you," Harry flirted.
Hermione smiled shyly. "You aren't the first person to tell me that."
"'Tis true, my dear," Harry answered. "And at the risk of being hexed, how was your morning?"
"It was alright," Hermione replied. "I worked until our meeting."
"Which would be why you are in a tizzy right now," Harry remarked.
"More or less," Hermione shot back. "How was your morning?"
"It was ok," Harry said. "I did receive an interesting wake-up call around 6:30 though."
"Do tell," Hermione urged. "Especially if it makes my morning seem all that much better."
"It's not so much that it would make your day better, it just makes mine longer," Harry retorted.
"Oh, ok then," Hermione conceded. "You can come in. You don't have to stand in the hallway."
"Just wanted to stay an arms length from you," Harry shot back. He walked in and plopped down in Hermione's chair and grabbed her nameplate. "Hermione J. Granger. What does the 'J' stand for?"
"Jane," Hermione replied, blushing.
"Hermione Jane Granger. Not too shabby," Harry said thoughtfully. He propped his feet up on Hermione's desk. "Ah! I could get used to this."
"Junior, get your smelly feet off my desk!" Hermione declared.
In response, Harry put his hands behind his head and leaned back in the chair. "What if I don't?" he challenged, green eyes twinkling.
Hermione smirked. "Then that ticket you came to pick up is going to find a new, more deserving, home."
"You're going to take away my birthday present?" Harry said, faking sad.
"I never said it was a present," Hermione corrected. "I merely offered an extra ticket so you'd be able to spend the day with your family."
Hermione had been walking around her office, straightening up a bit. When she got into range, Harry grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his lap, tickling her.
"Harry, quit it!" Hermione gasped through her laughter. "Stop!"
"Only if you promise to give me the ticket," Harry teased.
"Ok!" she choked out. "Whatever you want!"
Harry grinned triumphantly and flexed his fingers. "Works every time."
Hermione playfully punched Harry in the arm. "Smart aleck," she muttered under her breath, trying to get up.
"Am I interrupting something?" an amused voice asked.
Hermione and Harry looked in the direction of the voice. Hermione's eyes grew wide and Harry sized the newcomer up; he wasn't sure why, but he had instant dislike of this person.
"No, nothing at all," Hermione said hastily. Only Harry noticed the waver in her voice.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" the man continued, in the same tone.
"Um, sure," Hermione replied hesitantly. "Josh, this is Harry, Lily's son. Harry, this is Josh."
'Josh, Josh…how do I know Josh?' Harry thought. 'Oh, right…the boyfriend. That explains the immediate hatred"
"Pleasure to finally meet you," Josh said evenly. "I've heard lots about you from your godfather."
"Likewise," Harry responded through gritted teeth. He didn't like this guy's attitude one bit.
"So, Hermy," Josh began. "What am I interrupting? You two seem to be awfully chummy."
"Harry stopped by to get something for Lily," Hermione lied. "I was standing on the cabinet to reach it and fell. He caught me before I hit the ground. Then we fell on the chair."
"Well, it's good thing you were here to take care of my girl," Josh said a bit harsh.
"Just happened to be here at the time," Harry answered carefully.
"Anyway, Hermy, I just came by to remind you about dinner tomorrow night," Josh said, ignoring Harry.
"We didn't have plans for tomorrow," Hermione frowned.
"I sent you a note last night. Did you not get it?" Josh continued.
"No, I didn't," Hermione replied, her anger barely in check. Harry noticed her jaw twitch every time Josh called her Hermy.
"No matter," Josh answer airily. "I'm telling you now."
"I already have plans," Hermione stately firmly.
"Change them," Josh commanded.
Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously. "No. I've had them set for almost a month. You knew that. You were included in these plans, but declined. Lily is counting on me."
"It's always Lily. Or James. Or Sirius," Josh dismissed. "When is it going to be me?"
"They are my friends. You never had a problem with them before," Hermione defended.
"That was before they started making my life miserable," Josh said in that detached voice. "Before they turned my girlfriend against me."
"What has gotten into you?" Hermione asked angrily. "No one is against you."
"Maybe it's what I haven't gotten into," Josh replied, his voice hard but suggestive. "Do yourself a favor and owl me when you can be a REAL girlfriend."
He disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. Hermione hung her head and rolled her eyes. She sank heavily into her chair, not even noticing Harry was still in it. "Oh. Sorry," she said distractedly, once she landed on him.
"It's ok," Harry replied softly.
Hermione blinked in recognition and her eyes got wide. "Harry, I'm so sorry. I'd forgotten you were still here. I'm so embarrassed," she said, hiding her face in her hands.
Harry reached out and gently guided her jaw so she was face to face with him. "Don't be," he said clearly. "There is no reason for it. You're not the one who just acted like a complete ass to your girlfriend in front of a perfect stranger."
Hermione offered a weak smile. "Thanks, Harry." She twisted her shoulders and gave him a hug, complete with another kiss on the cheek.
"No problem," Harry answered quietly. "I hate to see my friends upset."
"I have no idea what is going on with him," Hermione said. "When we're alone, he's as sweet as can be. But as soon as he sees me with anyone else or even hears that I'm going somewhere with someone else, he turns into this different person."
"Maybe I should introduce him to Victoria," Harry muttered darkly.
"Who is that?" Hermione asked.
"Remember I said I had an early wake-up call?" Harry responded.
"Of course," Hermione replied.
"It was Victoria, calling to tell me she was mad I didn't call her back last night," Harry explained. "Apparently, she left me twelve messages, starting around 5:00, asking what I was doing last night. She knew I was having dinner with my parents and Sirius. Now she's convinced I am cheating on her. She kept going on and on about not being able to spend enough time with me. Bloody hell, that woman could be attached to me permanently and she'd still say we weren't spending enough time together!"
Despite the previous argument, Hermione let out a giggle. She quickly covered her mouth and attempted to look innocent. Harry narrowed his eyes at her playfully. "Don't make me get the fingers out again!" he threatened.
"It's just that we're talking about setting up our significant others. That isn't a usual occurrence for me," Hermione said lightly.
"Me neither. But at the moment, I am inclined to think they'd be perfect for each other," Harry declared.
"Perhaps," Hermione dismissed. "Are you busy the rest of the afternoon?"
"Nah, I've got everything I needed to finish taken care of," Harry answered.
"Good. Then you're coming with me," Hermione declared.
"Come again?" Harry asked, surprised.
"I'm not staying here. I can't stay here. And I need company, so you're it," Hermione stated, clearing her desk and retrieving her belongings. She quickly scrawled some things on parchment and watched as the paper took flight, addressed to Ludo Bagman.
"Let's go before someone tries to stop me," Hermione added, steering a dazed Harry out of her office. She locked her door. "Meet me at your parents' place." One loud *crack* and Harry was standing alone.
Just then Ludo Bagman came around the corner, clutching a piece of parchment, obviously looking for Hermione.
"Harry Potter!" he called. "Come to see me, eh?"
"Um, actually I had some business with Hermione Granger," Harry answered.
"Ah, well, Miss Granger has apparently left for the day. Anything I can help you with?" Bagman asked eagerly.
"No, thanks. I'll just try back Monday. Bye." Harry Apparated as quick as he could and reappeared in his parents' entranceway.
A/N: I'm sorry, I know that's a weird place to leave off. The rest of what I had written for this chapter is fuzzy and not up to par. I'm hoping to revise it soon, so it can be posted. Again, I'm sorry. Forgive me?