Chapter One
The Delivery
"No, we don't think the loss is a significant factor. A minor loss like that is to expected when extending your market…Right…" Hermione commented via floo to Mr. Olivander. "If you have anymore questions; don't hesitate to floo back."
Hermione rotated her neck from keeping in the same position for an hour. Her secretary, Hannah Abbott poked her head through the open door. "Here are the papers you wanted, Ms. Granger."
"Just put them in my in box. I'll get to them after the board meeting."
Hannah nodded and did what she was asked. When she turned around to leave, she remembered the other reason she came down to her boss' office. "Oh, wait. There is a delivery for you at reception."
"What is it?"
Hannah grinned playfully as she left her boss' office, "delivery for you at reception."
Hermione rolled her eyes as she wiped off the soot off her suit. As she walked toward the reception, her mind raced through the list of things the delivery could be. "Probably it's just more paperwork Griphook wants me to do."
When she made it to reception, the most beautiful arrangement of sunflowers and iris were poised in a vase like a ballerina on the reception desk. Confused, Hermione went over to take in their heavenly scent and to find out if they were really for her.
"Make sure to put a little 7-up in the water. For some reason they'll last a little longer. It's crazy, but it works." A masculine voice came from behind her and when she swerved around a raven haired man with emerald green eyes walked over with a clip board, a piece of parchment, and a quill. "Sign here please."
As she sighed, she asked. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"
He looked her over before answering. "No, I don't think so unless I saw you around the halls of Hogwarts."
"No, I went to Salem Academy for Witches." Hermione then rambled. "It's in the United States."
"You're an American witch then?"
"No, I am from Oxford shire. I went to school in America." Hermione finished signing for her flowers.
"Thanks." The green eyed delivery man bade her good-bye. As he left the building, she eyed him carefully. She was sure she had seen him before. She continued to rack her brain for his name as she carried the vase back to her office. It seem word had spread like wildfire about her delivery because as Hermione made her way back to her office, everyone stepped outside theirs to get a glance at the arrangement.
Once back at her office, she noted the card sticking out of it with the help of a card pick. She opened the envelope, noting the color was the same as the man who delivered its eyes. She broke the seal on the envelope, which bore a simple lightning bolt shape, and opened the card.
Disappointed, she frowned at the blank card. She turned the card over only to find the only printing on the back was the name of the floral shop and their address. Her mind went immediately to the usual suspects. Viktor might have sent them knowing about what had happened to the Punckles. Her best friend, Luna Lovegood, may have sent them as well, but the chances were slim. Even though she was a journalist, she couldn't have. She had a sick father to look after.
Quickly, she jotted down a note to each of them and then handed the notes to her red-tailed hawk named Sekiyah (pronounced: si-KI-YAH). She had learned owls were the common to use to deliver messages here in her home country. In the United States, where their national symbol is a bald eagle, it was the typical to use various birds of pray. When she had come home from her senior year at Salem; she brought Sekiyah with her. "Sky, please bring these to Viktor and Luna for me. You should find them in their offices at the Daily Prophet."
The bird took the messages with her beak and flew out the window. She looked majestic in contrast to all of the owls. With her wings spread, she glided over the street and to the Daily Prophet building.
Hermione's attention went back over the card sitting on her desk. She sub-consciously went to the only writing on the card at all; the name and address of the floral shop on the back of the card. Potter's Plants was the name of the place and the address was in Hogsmeade. When the responses to her notes were returned, they were both as she had expected:
No, it wouldn't have occurred to me to send you flowers. Maybe Luna sent them. -Viktor.
She highly doubted it had been Luna, but she opened her note anyway.
Flowers?! Who sent you flowers?! Meet me after you `bored' meeting at the Leaky Cauldron and we'll try to figure this out. -Luna
Hermione then noticed the time and quickly gathered what she needed for the board meeting in the board room. The meeting droned on with statistics and strategy planning. Normally, she would have loved this type of meeting, but she couldn't get her mind off the flowers.
Once the meeting ended, Griphook pulled her aside. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I am fine."
"You looked like you were far away. What's going on?"
"Nothing, I was just trying to come up with something to add, but I couldn't."
"You've never had a problem before."
"Lack of coffee I guess."
"Either way, I want you take a few days off. Better yet, make it a week."
"But I am fine, Griphook."
"That is fine, but I am going to need you in top shape for this." She was going to protest, again, but he pointed one of his long claw-like fingernails at her. "If I see you before next Tuesday, I am going to fire you."
It had been a gentle warning, especially coming from a goblin as it goes. Not wanting to know what his definition of `fire' was, she nodded in compliance and then headed back to her office. She gathered her personal belongings; including the arrangement of flowers to head home before her lunch with Luna.
As she was locking her office door, Hannah realized she was leaving for the day. "Where are you going? Don't you have another conference this afternoon?"
"Forced vacation; I am not allowed back until next Tuesday."
"I pity you." Hannah rolled her eyes. "I take it you want me to revise your schedule and take messages while you are away?"
"Please." Hermione shifted the vase of flowers as she finished locking the door. "It's Tuesday in the afternoon. What do normal people do?"
"Whatever you want to, I suppose." Hannah smiled when she noticed the flowers. "Nice flowers."
"Not like you didn't know about them."
"Who are they from?"
"I don't know." Hermione shrugged as she left the office.
"Did you even bother to look at the card?" Hannah shouted as Hermione exited the main doors of Gringotts.
*****
When Hermione arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, it wasn't hard to spot her best friend waving at her from a table in the corner. Luna, in the process of waving at her, knocked over her drink. The waiter, which had just served her and moved on to the next table, witnessed what had happened and rushed over to clean up the mess.
"Sorry and thank you." Luna called after the waiter as Hermione approached. "I cannot believe how klutzy I am today."
"Just today?" Hermione chuckled as she claimed her seat across from her.
"Point," Luna then changed the subject. "Since when has the Leaky Cauldron made everyone check in their wands? Don't you think that is a little ridiculous? What if someone came in here and started throwing spells in every which way direction?"
"Luna, you're so paranoid. Who do you think is going to come in here? Besides, it's now wizarding law to have all wands checked before going into a restaurant establishment. Viktor covered it, remember? It was his first piece that wasn't a sport's article. You work for the Daily Prophet, you should know this."
"He works for a different department. Viktor works the sports section since he was a Bulgarian Quidditch star before his knee injury. As you know he's been doing a lot of work in other departments." Luna attacked what remained of her tea. "I guess he's looking at becoming an editor. So what's with the flowers? Did you find out who sent them? Was it Mr. Popularity?"
"Viktor said it wouldn't have occurred to him to send me flowers." Hermione admitted.
"Ouch."
"But it's really not that kind of relationship. We basically keep each other around for…"
"Moonlighting purposes, yea I know." Luna pondered the situation. "Could anyone back at Salem Academy know about the Punckles? Maybe they sent…"
"No, I don't think they would have."
"Hmm…" Luna thought about it for a moment. "Well, if I didn't send them and we know for sure Mr. Thoughtful didn't send them either, there is only one other explanation."
"What?"
"Somebody fancies you."
"No way."
"Come on, Hermione. Perhaps your prince has finally come for you."
"You're mental."
"Okay, just listen to me just for a second. There is no one on this planet that deserves a happy ending as much as you. So, why not?"
"It's probably some clerical error in the floral world. I'm not the type of person these kinds of things happen to."
"Fine, if you don't want to believe me I'll let you. Mr. Prince charming would have probably turned out to be a bloody bastard anyway. I'll keep the fantasy, though. An anonymous delivery, I could go years on that." Luna sighed. "When you got stuff like that, who needs the truth?"
*****
-->