Disclaimer: All things pertaining to Harry Potter are the property of J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books/Scholastic Press and Warner Bros. I just like to play with them!
A/N: Thank so much for all the reviews! Especially to Dinmenel who noticed the typos - these have now been corrected and I have been through this chapter carefully before posting it so I'm pretty sure there aren't any in this one (just a note - I live in England so I will be writing using the English spelling of some words rather than the American English spelling). Anyways, hopefully any questions raised by the first chapter will be answered in the following - this chapter will exploring the situation from Hermione's POV. Hope you like it and please review again!
I solemnly swear that I am up to no good...
***
Hermione sighed as she relaxed beneath the bubbles filling her bathtub.
She was definitely feeling a lot less anxious about the forthcoming evening than she had been this morning and she was grateful to Harry for his advice and for putting her mind at ease.
Most girls she knew would rather die than discuss their sex life, or lack thereof in her case, with a male friend, but Harry was different. Everything they'd been through together during their Hogwarts days, the treacherous hunt for Horcruxes and the final battle, had created a strong bond between them and she knew she could trust Harry implicitly.
He was also different to most other males his age - while someone like Ron wasn't able to discuss the topic of sex without making some puerile comment, the events of Harry's teenage years had forced him to grow up way before his time and as a result he was mature enough to handle such a conversation.
And also when it came to relationship issues, she felt it was important to have a male perspective.
But regardless of her reasons for going to Harry for advice, her instincts had been right and she was now feeling much more enthusiastic about taking her relationship to the next level.
Not wanting to remain in the bath for too long for fear of ending up looking like a prune, she quickly washed and cast a hair removing charm on her legs, underarms and bikini line, before getting out, wrapping herself in a towel and going through to her bedroom.
She'd wanted to create a romantic atmosphere for tonight and hence had bought several candles this morning. After returning home from Harry's, she'd set about positioning them around her bedroom and at various spots in the lounge and dining room. She'd then got to work on preparing the meal - the chicken was now roasting nicely in the oven, a platter of oysters and a homemade tiramisu were chilling in the fridge, and a bottle of elf-made wine was waiting to be opened just before Alex was due to arrive to allow it time to breath.
After drying herself and applying her favourite lavender scented body lotion, Hermione sat down in front of her dressing table mirror and set to work fixing her hair and makeup.
She had always been a decidedly low maintenance girl, generally having much better things to do than spend time worrying about her appearance. For a long time, her hair had been a nightmare to maintain, although she now used an anti-frizz hair potion which transformed its customary bushiness into a torrent of soft curls. She wore very little makeup, just a bit of mascara and lip gloss for work or when she went out.
Tonight, she had decided to be slightly more adventurous - the witch manning the cosmetic counter at the apothecary had convinced her that a forest green shade of eye shadow would really brighten up her eyes and a rose hued blush would give her a natural looking glow. She had also chosen to wear her hair up, securing it with two sticks in a style she had seen in a copy of Witch Weekly that one of the secretaries in her office had left behind yesterday.
Walking over to her bed, where she had left some of her other purchases from her shopping trip this morning, she picked up the small white bag from Astoria's Secret. She had never visited the shop before today, despite Ginny and Malfoy's many recommendations, but she had once heard that wearing sexy lingerie, even if no one would be seeing it, did wonders for a woman's confidence and she felt she could use all the confidence she could get tonight. Plus she didn't want to be wearing her usual white or black cotton underwear the first time that Alex saw her without her clothes.
Astoria Greengrass hadn't been around during her visit, but the salesgirl had been more the attentive in helping her select a gorgeous baby pink lace bra with matching panties.
She slipped them on, loving the feel of the fabric next to her skin - so different from the cotton garments she was used to. And best of all there were no visible lines under her new black dress, despite its snug fit. After sliding her feet into her favourite pair of black heels, she stood in front of the full length mirror to assess the end result.
Overall, she was pleased with what she saw, proof that she could scrub up pretty well when she made an effort. She knew she was no real beauty, especially not in comparison to her friends and former schoolmates. Though she had always asserted that personality was much more important than looks, sometimes she wondered what it would be like to have Ginny's gorgeous titian hair, or Luna's deep blue eyes, Parvati's mile long legs or Lavender's very ample chest.
Not that it really mattered - the important thing was that Alex was attracted to her and she had never had any cause to doubt that. On numerous occasions, he had told her she was beautiful and more importantly, he genuinely showed admiration for her other good qualities, often praising her for her intelligence (the biggest compliment he could possibly pay her). Most of her friends had commented on how well matched they were - Ginny even called him a male Hermione. In addition to them both being highly intellectual people and skilled in their use of magic, they were both pursuing careers in the field of magical law - Hermione currently worked as an advocate in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement - and they shared a great love of books and reading.
They had met eight months ago at a Ministry party. Alex had only just returned to Britain after spending the previous ten years working at various foreign ministries. He had been educated at Hogwarts and sorted into Ravenclaw House, though as he was four years older than Hermione, they'd never become acquainted while at school. He was good looking in a scholarly kind of way - he had light brown hair and hazel eyes and was always well-groomed and smartly dressed.
He'd asked her to dance at the party and after hesitating for a moment, she'd agreed. The Monday after, she'd run into him in the Ministry cafeteria and he'd invited her to join him at his table. They'd then begun meeting for lunch on a fairly regularly basis (a big change for Hermione who had previously eaten in her office while continuing to work through the mountain of paperwork always covering her desk) and one day, he'd asked if she would go out to dinner with him.
She'd been rather uncertain at first, especially since she hadn't dated anyone since her unfortunately brief relationship with Ron. But eventually he wore her down and their successful first date was followed by a second and a third and before long they were an official item.
She was interrupted from her thoughts by a buzzing sound and turning she saw that her wand, which she had left on her bedside table, was vibrating, indicating that the dinner was ready.
Going through to the kitchen, she took the chicken out of the oven and covered it with foil to stop it burning, before putting it back in and turning the heat down low, to keep it warm. The table was laid and with a flick of her wand, she lit the candles, before opening the bottle of wine.
Alex had said he would be there about half past seven and it was now quarter past. She poured herself a glass of wine to abate any lingering nerves about how this evening would be ending and took a seat on the sofa to await his arrival.
About five minutes later, she heard a tapping sound coming from over by the window. Frowning, she got up and went to investigate, immediately spotting the brown owl hovering outside, tapping on the glass with its beak. When she opened the window to allow the bird entry, it flew inside and landed on her coffee table, holding out its leg for her take the folded piece of parchment it was carrying.
After accepting a handful of owl treats, the bird left and Hermione opened the letter, her smile disappearing as she realised it was from Alex.
Hermione,
Unfortunately, I'm going to have to take a raincheck on this evening. Something's come up at work and I have to stay late.
Maybe we can go out to dinner tomorrow night?
I'll owl you in the morning.
Alexander
Her heart sank as she read his missive and looked around at her wonderfully prepared romantic dinner. Her wonderfully prepared surprise romantic dinner.
She supposed she couldn't blame him. As far as he was concerned their plans for the evening had been little more than a night in with a takeaway from the restaurant down the street and then cuddling up on the sofa to watch a Muggle film.
But she could hardly deny that she was disappointed - she had finally plucked up the courage to sleep with her boyfriend and now he had to work late. What did they say about the best laid plans?
With a sigh, she went through to the kitchen to turn off the oven. The chicken could probably be eaten cold and the tiramisu would be fine, but the oysters wouldn't keep. It was a shame - she was a big fan of shellfish and she had read somewhere that they were considered an aphrodisiac.
Alex had suggested dinner tomorrow evening, but since it was summer, maybe they could go for a picnic in the park instead. It would be much more romantic than dinner in a busy restaurant.
Then suddenly an idea came to her.
Why didn't she just pack up the food and take it to the Ministry now to share with Alex? Ok, so it wasn't as romantic as the dinner she'd planned but at least she wouldn't be on her own on a Saturday night.
The little that he'd shared with her about the case he was currently working on was enough that she knew it was particularly complex and was taking up a lot of time and resources. She knew Alex well enough to know that he would probably be at the office most of the night and he was unlikely to bother taking a break to get anything to eat.
So with a smile, she took out a picnic hamper and began packing the food into it. Then slipping on a pink cardigan to keep her warm, she picked up the hamper and threw a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace. She stepped into the flames, uttered the words `Ministry of Magic' and moments later, she appeared in the Atrium.
Even though, like Alex, a few Ministry employees sometimes worked late, the Atrium was pretty quiet. Alex's office was located on the fifth floor so she headed through the golden gates and into the lift.
When the lift arrived at the floor which housed the Department of International Magical Cooperation, she got out and walked the familiar route down the main corridor. Upon reaching Alex' office, she saw that the door was slightly ajar and smiling, she pushed it open.
The tableau that greeted her was one that would stay lodged in her mind for a long time to come.
The `work' that had caused her boyfriend to remain at the office and abandon their plans for an evening together, had absolutely nothing to do with international law and everything to do with the blonde woman currently straddling him in his chair, her blouse unbuttoned and her sizable breasts practically climbing out of her bra as they kissed.
Her intake of breath and the sound of the hamper falling from her hand alerted to them to her presence and Alex froze when he saw her, his hands immediately taking hold of the other woman's hips and lifting her off him, before moving out of the chair towards her.
"Hermione, I…"
She held up a hand, cutting him off and he fell silent, coming to a standstill in front of her. The other woman hovered in the background, slowly rebuttoning her shirt with a slight smirk on her face, making it clear that she did not feel one iota of shame at the fact that she'd just been caught fooling around with a guy by his girlfriend.
Hermione didn't know what to say and wasn't even sure if she could speak - it felt as though there was a lump in her throat the size of a Bludger.
"Hermione, it's not…"
"Don't," she said, her eyes bright with unshed tears and her voice wobbling slightly. "Don't insult my intelligence by trying to deny that you're a lying, cheating bastard."
She didn't know what was worse - what he'd done and what she might've done with him if she hadn't found out about this.
"Who is she?"
"She is Camille," the blonde woman spoke up from behind Alex, her French accent thick. "I used to work with Alexander in France and I have come over for a visit...and to help him out with a little problem."
Despite her deliberate choice of phrasing, Hermione knew exactly what she meant - she had come over to give Alex what he wasn't getting from his girlfriend.
He wasn't even bothering to refute the claims and the knowledge that he hadn't cared about her enough to wait until she was ready increased her anguish tenfold. She knew she had to get out of here before she really broke down.
"Well, I hope she's worth it," she said, casting a final glance at her now ex-boyfriend and not even bothering to pick up the hamper, she turned around and ran back down the corridor.
Her speed picked up as she heard him calling her name and only when she was safely in the lift did she allow the tears to fall.
***
Mischief managed!
Good? Bad? Ugly? Let me know.
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