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HannahLongbottom · 10-05-2009, 02:25 PM

A million thank yous to the talented ShadowThestral for my banner

This is my second fan fic and features characters from my first Bright Lights. It sort of compliments Bright Lights, with some spoilers for Bright Lights. It will make sense as a stand alone story, but I'd recommend reading that one first. The plot and additional characters are mine but anything else you recognise belongs to the wonderful JKR.

One: Avalanche
Two: Surprise
Three: Steaming
Four: Fall
Five: Stunning
Six: Seal
Seven: Ice
Eight: Prey
Nine: Fire
Ten: Infatuate
Eleven: Tangle
Twelve: Apprise
Thirteen: Capricious
Fourteen: Translate
Fifteen: Bellicose
Sixteen: Circumspect
Seventeen: Consternation

One: Avalanche

Hermia Smith had settled into her job at the Ministry. She had applied for the job without telling anyone. She had been interviewed by Euan Abercrombie, who had no idea of her connections to Teddy Lupin or Harry Potter. She had been determined to get a position on her own merit and had taken enjoyed the look of shock on their faces when she announced that she would be joining Hermione in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

She had been charged with the task of locating the original copies of old laws that needed to be redrafted and updated. As she opened the door of the file room, her heart sank. The shelves seemed to stretch for miles. On them were huge dusty books, most of them the size of gravestones, their titles were patchy and faded with peeling letters and damaged bindings. She propped the door open so that the some fresh air could replace the stale air that seemed as old as the law books, looked at her list and rolled up her sleeves.

She walked along the rows, searching the titles and indexes for the documents she needed. Having found four of the books of documents that she needed, she spent almost an hour searching for a copy of a law concerning how the property of convicted criminals should be handled. Finally she saw it on a high shelf, at the bottom of a pile. She was far too short to even try reaching it. Frustration caused her to loose her temper and she pulled out her wand. “Accio books!” The pile of books she wanted flew towards her and she grinned, but only for a split second as she realised that all the books from that shelf were avalanching towards her at great speed.
“Protego!” She screamed the spell as the first book hit her.

~

Ashtad Djalili walked out of the Auror department towards the lift. He noticed that the door of the old file room was open, which was a very rare occurrence. As he drew level with the door he heard a scream and a cloud of dust exploded out into the hallway. He ran into the file room just in time to see Hermia Smith cast a Shield charm. Two of the books had hit her causing her small frame to crumple to the floor in a flurry of robes, but her shield charm was so strong that the other books were forced away from her, hitting the floor in a volley of deafening thuds. When the books had stopped falling he pushed his dark brown curls out of his eyes and cleared his throat.

“What are you doing?”

She threw him a contemptuous look.

“Pruning a Flutterby Bush.”

“Really? You’ve got an interesting technique.”

Her chocolate brown eyes narrowed.

“Oh go play on the train tracks.”

“Now, now Hermy, you know you don't mean that.”

She stood up, smoothed her long brown hair and looked up at him with utter disdain.

“You might get paid to stand around all day trying to be witty, but I’ve actually got a job to do. Don’t call me Hermy again. If you do, you might find out how talented I am with a Severing Cham.”

“Thanks for the warning, Herms.” Before she could reply, he turned and walked away, grinning as she muttered about what she’d do to him if she was given half a chance.

*****

John Smith sat in an otherwise empty carriage on the Hogwarts Express. He watched as the tall figure of Keith Moore passed by the door, followed by Teddy Lupin, who looked ridiculous as usual, his hair a vulgar shade of blue. He stared out of the window as the train began to move. He couldn’t wait to get back to London and get home. He was sick of the sight of his squeaky clean peers.

He looked up as the door slid open. Tyr and Quirinus Eastman strode into the compartment and sat down.

“Alright Smith?” Tyr clearly didn’t care one way or the other.

“Fine.” John didn’t like the Eastman twins but they were useful people to know.

“There is someone you should meet this summer Smith, someone who is interested in you.” Quirinus was watching him carefully, as he always did.

“Me? Why does this person want to meet me?”

“She’s heard good things about you.”

“Oh yeah? Who is she?”

“Morgana.”

*****

Hermia arrived back at Lupin Cottage to find eight year old Remus Lupin chasing gnomes around the garden, laughing as they shouted and swore at him. Remus looked very much like the grandfather he had never met. He was thin with tawny brown hair and honey coloured eyes.

“Hermia!” He ran towards her and hugged her, almost knocking her off her feet. “I missed you today. Did you miss me?”

“Of course I did, there was no-one to tell me silly jokes!” He grinned up at her and they walked into the cottage together.

Amelia Lupin was searching through a pile of books in the parlour. The parlour was Hermia’s favourite room in Lupin Cottage, it was full of books and comfortable chairs to sit and read them in. Remus picked up a comic and threw himself into one of them. Hermia made her way into the kitchen and unbuttoned her robes to reveal a large purple bruise on her stomach.

“Hermia, I don’t suppose you’ve seen that cookbook Molly let me borrow have you?”

“No, sorry.”

“Oh heck, I wanted to try something new, since we have a guest for dinner.”

Hermia was only half listening. She was looking in the mirror at the bruise on her stomach from where the book had hit her. She started to heal the bruise; thinking that if she was lucky Amelia wouldn’t find the book and Teddy would do the cooking. Amelia was a brilliant Auror but a lousy cook.

“Hmm? Who’s coming to dinner?”

“Teddy’s bringing his trainee, that’s why I’ve come home early. The twins are at Ginny’s tonight. And Remus,” She gave her son a warning glance, “is going to bed.”

“Awwww, Muuuum! I want to meet him!”

“And you can, so long as you go get a bath now and go to bed when you are told.”

Remus ran out of the room and clomped up the stairs. Hermia fastened her robes and glanced out of the window. Walking up the path was Teddy, followed by Ashtad. Hermia’s lip curled with disgust.

“They’re here.” She managed to keep her voice neutral. “I think I’ll go change.”

“Ok. Don’t be long though, will you?” Amelia had a pleading look in her brilliantly blue eyes. “If you’re here there can’t be too much Quidditch talk.”

Hermia grinned. “I’ll be down soon.” Her mind was already ticking over, trying to think of a way to get out of having to stay for dinner.

princess of*hp* · 10-13-2009, 12:55 AM

NEW FIC!

Gr... Ashtad...
Hermia

Little Remus Lupin!

HannahLongbottom · 10-13-2009, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by princess of*hp*

NEW FIC!

Gr... Ashtad...
Hermia

Little Remus Lupin!

My first comment!

Grr Ashtad? Don't you like Ashtad?

I like Hermia lots too!

and I had to bring little Remus into it somewhere, didn't I?

norenchen · 10-13-2009, 03:31 PM

Ooooh i'm so glad your writing another story, i wasn't sure how i was going to survive without Bright Lights

Great post, i love little Remus and Hermia: )

PAMS

Shell

Erindipity · 10-13-2009, 05:59 PM

new FF about the lovely little Lupin family and all of their friends!!

Great post! PAMS

HannahLongbottom · 10-13-2009, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by norenchen

Ooooh i'm so glad your writing another story, i wasn't sure how i was going to survive without Bright Lights

Great post, i love little Remus and Hermia: )

PAMS

Shell

I'm glad you like it

I love little Remus too, that's why I've rewound a few years from Chapter Eight of Brigh Lights. Does no-one like Ashtad?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginny37

new FF about the lovely little Lupin family and all of their friends!!

Great post! PAMS

Thanks! I couldn't just abandon them, I've got too much of a soft spot for them all.

norenchen · 10-13-2009, 08:13 PM

I like Ashtad i just love the Remus and Hermia more

HannahLongbottom · 10-13-2009, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by norenchen

I like Ashtad i just love the Remus and Hermia more

Hmmmm, I wonder if that will change...

norenchen · 10-14-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HannahLongbottom

Hmmmm, I wonder if that will change...

Why????????
Whats gonna happen????
You can't say something like that and just leave it?????

Shell

HannahLongbottom · 10-14-2009, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by norenchen

Why????????
Whats gonna happen????
You can't say something like that and just leave it?????

Shell

Well you see *The rest of this sentence has been removed by the Spoiler Police*

Kaytone · 10-15-2009, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HannahLongbottom

Well you see *The rest of this sentence has been removed by the Spoiler Police*

Found this story of your first. I thought it was good.

I liked the characters.

I'm not worthy.

HannahLongbottom · 10-15-2009, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaytone

Found this story of your first. I thought it was good.

I liked the characters.

I'm not worthy.

Of course you're worthy! Go read Bright Lights first!

HannahLongbottom · 10-15-2009, 06:57 AM

I've had fun with this, so I hope you enjoy it.

Two: Surprise

As it turned out, the perfect excuse not to stay to dinner was on her dressing table, hopping from foot to foot.

“Hello Araceli, have you brought me something?”

The tawny owl gave a dignified hoot and held out her leg. Hermia untied the scroll.

“There’s water and food down stairs,” Hermia informed the owl, stroking her gently on the head. “I’m sure Artemis will be glad to see you.”

The owl gave another hoot to show that she had understood and took off through the open window. Hermia unrolled the scroll to see very familiar handwriting and smiled broadly.

Quote:

Dear H,

I’m back! Get you glad robes on, me and you are going dancing. Muggle attire is a must. I can’t wait to see you Beautiful Girl.

Be at mine by 8 pm!

J xxx

Hermia knew that the best chance she had of Amelia not talking her out of going was to go down stairs with only a few minutes to spare. As she could still hear Remus splashing about in the bath, she opened the muggle side of her wardrobe and started to put together an outfit. Ten minutes later, when she heard Remus getting out of the bath (and from the sound of it leaving half of the water on the floor), she had chosen an outfit. She almost skipped to the bathroom with happiness; she had to remind herself very strongly that she was just going out with a friend. A gorgeous friend who had always... She shook her self mentally. She couldn’t seem too happy; she didn’t want Ashtad to glean any details from her demeanour. She didn’t want to hand him ammunition, after all.

~

“You know that Hermia hates me, don’t you boss?”

Teddy gave him a puzzled look. He pushed open the door to the cottage.

“Does she? Since when?

“Since school. We didn’t exactly get off to a good start and it’s been down hill since then.”

“Why, what happened?”

Ashtad was saved from answering what would have been a rather tricky question by Amelia. “Hello you two. Ted, darling, I can’t find...”

“...the cook book so would I mind making dinner tonight?” Her husband replied automatically, with a lazy Maraurderish grin twitching at the corners of his mouth.

“You know me so well.” She kissed him lightly on the cheek, “Ashtad, would you like a drink? Tea? Mead? Wine?”

“A cup of tea would be lovely, thanks.”

Teddy and Amelia made themselves busy in the kitchen. Ashtad offered to help, but was given strict instructions to sit at the table and relax as he was a guest. Eventually, Remus snuck into the kitchen in his pyjamas, apparently feeling very shy. He went and stood next to his father.

“Hello, I’m Ashtad. Are you Remus?” Ashtad smiled widely to try and make Remus feel comfortable.

Remus nodded.

“In that case I’ve got a surprise for you.” Ashtad put his hand in his pocket and seemed to make a fist. He withdrew his fist and placed it on the table. He slowly uncurled his fingers but kept his hand cupped on the table. Remus looked curious, but still a little bit nervous. “Are you going to come and have a look?”

Remus looked up at Teddy uncertainly. Teddy laughed. “Go on! He won’t bite!”

Remus flitted across the room, sitting on the chair next to Ashtad. Ashtad slowly lifted his thumb and index finger up, tilting his hand to one side. Remus let out a squeal of pleasure.

“He’s for me? Really?” His amber eyes seemed to stand out on stalks. “He’s really for me?” Ashtad nodded and laughed as Remus scooped up the tiny figure of Oliver Wood, who was burly even in miniature.

“I found him in a drawer at home and your dad told me that you like him more than anyone else.”

“Oh thanks!” Remus beamed up at Ashtad. After that there was no stopping him, going into in depth analysis of why Oliver Wood should go back to Keeping and leave his job as the Head of Magical Games and Sports. Teddy and Ashtad joined in and just Amelia’s smile was becoming slightly fixed at the length of the Quidditch debate, Hermia walked into the kitchen. Ashtad had to remind himself to keep breathing; his body seemed to have lost the ability to breathe automatically. She was framed in the doorway like a portrait; he had never seen her look that way before. It was almost like he was seeing her for the first time. She was wearing a very simple deep plum shift dress and matching shrug with knee length black boots. Her eyes were large and sparkling with excitement, her skin was like flawless alabaster. Her chocolate brown hair seemed to tumble impossibly around her face in curls with shafts of evening sunlight making it sparkle as though it had been dusted with gold.

“Oh, hi.” She greeted him dismissively. “Umm, Amelia, I’m really sorry but Jago’s just got back from Italy. He wants us to go out dancing.” Amelia gave her a pained look, trying to silently beg her to stay. “You know I haven’t seen him for months, you don’t mind do you?” Without waiting for an answer she kissed Teddy and Amelia and pulled Remus into a quick hug. “Don’t wait up!” She grinned as she made her way out of the kitchen.

“Bye Ash, see you at work maybe.” She threw the comment over her shoulder as an afterthought.

Ashtad watched her leave, feeling as though he had been doused in cold water. Remus had resumed his stream of Quidditch analysis, but Ashtad was only giving the bare minimum of responses required. He was too busy trying to work out what on earth had just happened.

*****

“Sont vous écoutant la Mademoiselle Smith?”

“Désolé Madame La Roux”

Hermia wasn’t listening to her Transfiguration professor; she already knew how to cast Cross Species Switching spells so as far as she was concerned she didn’t need to learn how to do it in French. She pretended to be taking notes, privately blessing the muggle who had thrown away Teach Yourself Shorthand in Eight Easy Lessons. It meant that she could make notes about anything she liked and no-one else would be able to read them apart from her. Rather than make notes about Switching Spells, she wrote a journal entry about the night she had spent with Valentin. A wide smile slowly spread over her face as she wrote about how he had kissed her neck as he pulled her into his arms. She realised that she was grinning soppily and shook her head, disgusted with herself. She was not one of those girls and no amount of poetry and flowers from a handsome Parisian would turn her into one.

*****

Hermia woke the next morning after only a few hours sleep. Light was streaming through a gap in the heavy curtains and she saw that she was alone. She looked up, expecting to see the sloping ceiling of her own bedroom but instead saw a high ceiling with a beautiful ceiling rose, suspended from which was a graceful candle filled chandelier. She realised that she was lying in a queen sized bed, covered with a warm damask blanket and soft cotton sheets. She looked around at the head board and saw intricately carved flowers and hummingbirds. She swung her legs out of the bed and felt the thick carpet below her bare feet. She saw her clothes, neatly laid over a chair. She hugged herself, pulling the unfamiliar man’s shirt closer to her body and took a deep breath. A scent from the shirt filled her nostrils.

“Jago.” She whispered his name and the memories came flooding back. They had into the danced until the early hours of the morning in a small muggle nightclub, revelling in the unfamiliar joy of each other’s company. She remembered dancing to a slow song with her head resting on his shoulder and feeling happiness overflowing from her heart. She couldn’t remember him letting her go all night; if he wasn’t holding her hand then his hand was resting on her hip or was protectively positioned on the small of her back. She blinked, realising that she must be in one of the guest room of his large London townhouse.

She crossed to the door and pulled it open. “Jago?” She called his name as she walked into the hall and he appeared, a pair of pyjama trousers hanging loosely on his lithe, athletic frame. His black eyes glittered in the early morning light and it was clear from his tousled dirty blond hair that he hadn’t been awake for very long either.

“Good morning Beautiful. Have you got time for a cup of tea before work?” His voice was gravelly after a night of talking over music.

“What do you mean, time before work, what time is it?” She looked at her own wrist, but her watch was missing.

He laughed at her softly and looked at his own watch. “It’s ten to ten.”

“Ten to ten? As in nine fifty am? In the morning?” Her voice became higher with each word. “I’m so late! I don’t have any robes or a toothbrush or anything!”

Jago smiled at her lazily. “What time were you supposed to be there?”

“I usually get there for quarter to eight! Hermione is going to kill me!” She started to pull her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth it.

Jago looked at her with amusement. “I’ve always understood that Fridays are a bit of a doss in offices.”

She cast him a dark look and he recoiled slightly. “Not when you work for Hermione Weasley they’re not! This is all your ruddy fault! Go do something useful! Make me a cup of coffee and get me a banana!” She continued to glare at him and the held his hands up in mock surrender.

“Of course Beautiful, you’re the boss, as always.” He gave her a last winning smile and disappeared down the stairs to the kitchen. She hurried back into the guestroom and started to get dressed, grabbing her watch from the bedside table, already able to imagine the scorching look that Hermione was going to give her.

Ok, so I must appologise profoundly to anyone who actually speaks French. Mine is supremely limited and rusty so if you have any corrections for me, please let me know!

Erindipity · 10-15-2009, 01:14 PM

Oooo... Great post!

Quote:

She cast him a dark look and he recoiled slightly. “Not when you work for Hermione Weasley they’re not! This is all your ruddy fault! Go do something useful! Make me a cup of coffee and get me a banana!” She continued to glare at him and the held his hands up in mock surrender.

Teehee! My fave line of it!!

HannahLongbottom · 10-15-2009, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginny37

Oooo... Great post!

Teehee! My fave line of it!!

I love her, she's got a bit of temper on her, don't you think?

Any thoughts on the delectable Jago?

norenchen · 10-15-2009, 02:46 PM

Great post. I love the Hermione bit.
I'm liking Jago : )

PAMS PAMS

Shell

HannahLongbottom · 10-15-2009, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by norenchen

Great post. I love the Hermione bit.
I'm liking Jago : )

PAMS PAMS

Shell

Just you wait til she gets to work!

Are we warming to Ashtad?

Erindipity · 10-15-2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HannahLongbottom

I love her, she's got a bit of temper on her, don't you think?

Any thoughts on the delectable Jago?

Oh she definitely has a bit of a temper!

I love it!

Jago... he sounds delicious so far!!

norenchen · 10-16-2009, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HannahLongbottom

Just you wait til she gets to work!

Are we warming to Ashtad?

Your being very mean saying all these things and not elaborating!!
I don't like it

PAMS please

Shell

HannahLongbottom · 10-18-2009, 08:52 AM

Three: Steaming
Ashtad stood at the security desk in the Atrium of the ministry of magic, listening to Harold, the old watch wizard, complaining about his shift pattern.

“She keeps ruddy changing it, and I’m fed up. I like to know what I’m doing so I can make plans. She don’t seem to think about my life when she’s messing about wiv her bits of parchment.” Harold rubbed a gnarled hand over his old chin. His round stomach rested against the desk as he absent mindedly filed the wand receipts from the previous day’s visitors.

“What can I tell you big H? She’s the boss and she takes security seriously. That’s why she wants to know who’s going in and out of this place.”

“Oh aye, but only ‘cause she managed to break in here twice when she was younger than what you are now. Oi, are you listening to me?” he demanded.

Ashtad had been distracted by a petite figure clad in plum muggle clothes that was moving quickly through the crowd, long brown hair lifting slightly as she hurried towards the lifts. “Yeah, course I am. Hermione Weasley, teenaged delinquent. Have you finished with those?” he pointed at the file containing the receipts.

“Aye, take ‘em, much good may they do her.” Ashtad completely missed Harold’s grumpiness at being treated so dismissively. “You go chase that skirt,” Harold muttered as Ashtad dashed away, towards the lifts “And much good may that do you.”

~

Hermia’s sole objective was to get to the lifts. She wanted to get upstairs, be lectured by Hermione and then go hide in the file room for as long as was possible. Most of all she wanted to avoid Ashtad. She didn’t feel up to trading insults, not on less than four hours sleep. She jabbed the button urgently, raking her fingers through her long brown hair again and pulled at the hem of her dress, acutely aware of how short it was. “Oh, come on!” she hissed, giving a dark look to the golden grille of the lift, almost as though she believed that it was being deliberately slow in responding to her. She reached out her hand to press the button again and it collided with someone else’s. She glanced up to see who it was and frowned. Much to her chagrin, it was Ashtad.

“I was going to ask if you had a good night out, but then I saw your outfit.” He gave a small chuckle.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She snapped acidly.

“Well, you must have danced the night away. You didn’t go home did you?”
She listened closely for any trace of sarcasm, but couldn’t detect any.

“What’s it got to do with you if I went home or not?” She wasn’t about to drop her defences, Ashtad had gained the upper hand too many times before by acting like he was innocent. She examined her manicure and missed his frown.

“Since I’ve been doing your job and mine this morning, it’s got quite a lot to do with me.” She was surprised at the sudden harshness to his voice. The lift arrived and he strode in to it, shoving the file of parchment at her. She dropped it and the receipts fluttered out like confetti. She crouched down to pick them up.

“Mrs Weasley wants to see those, correlated and checked, as soon as possible. That means you were supposed to get them to her two hours ago.” He said scathingly, making no attempt to help her pick up the parchments.

“Are you getting in?”

She looked up at him, enraged. They had never really been friends, he’d spent most of their Hogwarts days driving her crackers with constant practical jokes, he was always ready to make fun of her but he had never been so blatantly unpleasant and rude to her. Before she could answer, the grille of the lift closed and it whisked him away from her.

*****

Ashtad sat down at the Ravenclaw table, more than ready for something to eat. He hoped that the sorting wouldn’t take very long. He looked up to the top table. Professor Boot caught his eye and gave him a meaningful look that said Behave Yourself. Ashtad felt slightly piqued, he hadn’t been at school long enough to do anything that would warrant such a look from his Head of House. He watched as the first years made their way towards the stool where the Sorting Hat was waiting for them. He noticed that one girl was rather tall for a first year. ‘Maybe she was on the receiving end of a Stretching Jinx on the train’ he thought with a snort of laughter.

“What’s funny?” Elspeth Muir asked from across the table, her short black hair gleaming in the candlelight.

“I was just thinking that kid with the long brown hair looks like she’s been stretched.” He said, flashing her a winning smile.

“Y’know, Djalili, sometimes I think that you were put in the wrong house. She’s a fourth year.” Elspeth replied scornfully.

“How'd you know?”

Elspeth rolled her eyes “She was sat with us on the train. Her mother works with my dad or something, so I said I’d keep an eye on her until she got Sorted.”

“Oh, right, well, how was I supposed to know?”

“Well, you could have if you used your brain for something other than jokes for once.”

Due to their hushed conversation they had missed the Sorting Hat’s song completely. Professor Longbottom was now reading from the list of the names of students who were to be sorted.

“Armstrong, Jenny.”

“Gryffindor!”

“I thought you liked my jokes?”

She pursed her lips. “Sometimes they’re a bit too much. There’s room in life to be serious as well. This is our OWL year, you know.”

“Miller, Logan.”

“Hufflepuff!”

“Oi! I can be serious when I need to.” Ashtad was insulted and frowned deeply at her.

“Parry, Robert”

“Slytherin!”

“Well that really is news to me.” Elspeth shot back, with a look of great satisfaction on her face.

“Smith, Hermia”

“That’s her, now shush.” Ashtad frowned at Elspeth, annoyed at being told off again.

The girl with the long brown hair sat on the stool and surveyed her peers with a haughty, regal distain. She seemed to curl her lip at the thought of putting on the Sorting Hat, but did she did so without complaint. It took a long time considering her. She sat there, looking bored with the whole thing, totally unconcerned by the interested glances and whispers that she was drawing from the other students. Finally the hat shouted “Ravenclaw!” The whole house applauded and Elspeth stood up, waving at Hermia to come and join them. Hermia squeezed into the gap that the girls had created for her.

Ashtad noticed that if she smiled, she could be sort of pretty but at that particular moment she looked bored and slightly annoyed.

“Welcome to Ravenclaw, it’s the best place to be!” Ashtad said with trademark grin, trying to make her feel welcome.

She looked at him as though he had just welcomed her to a dung heap. “And you are?”

“Ashtad Djalili, at your service.” He stuck his hand out for her to shake across the table. She gave him an appraising look and shook his hand swiftly, as though afraid she may catch something. Throughout the meal he attempted to make polite conversation with her but it was fruitless, she only gave one word answers, if she replied at all. Eventually he gave up on her and joined in the debate about Quidditch with his friends. After they had been dismissed, he walked out of the Great Hall and up to the Ravenclaw tower. He was separated from his friends by a crowd of Gryfindors. Apparently the same had happened to Hermia.

“Can you show me where to go please?” She asked politely.

Oh you can talk to me when you want something, he thought. Right then, let’s be havin’ you…

“Of course!” He beamed.

After ten minutes, with Ashtad leading the way, they came to the foot of a spiral staircase.

“It’s just up there, I’ll be up in a bit, I’ve just remembered I need to go and see one of the professors.” He allowed her to start walking up the stairs and scooted behind a tapestry to listen.

A few minutes later there was an angry shout.

“Djalili!”

The sound of her feet against the stone steps covered his snigger. He watched her storm down the corridor through a small rip in the tapestry, an owl feather sticking out of her hair.

*****

Hermia was sat in the Magical Law Enforcement staffroom with her head on table with her eyes closed, a cup of coffee steaming gently close to her. She heard the door open but didn’t move to acknowledge that someone had entered the room.

“So, are you hung over?” Teddy’s amused voice came from behind her.

“No, just tired.” She moaned into the table.

“That was a nice walk of shame you did earlier. There’s a charm to lengthen skirts you know. I’ve been casting it on Genevieve for a while now.”

“Thanks, I’ll look that one up.” She was still mumbling into the table.

“So, did Hermione mind you being late?” The unrestrained glee in his voice began to annoy her.

“You heard her, didn’t you? Her office isn’t Imperturbable, is it?”

“No it’s not. I have to say that my favourite part was when she threatened to transfer you to Magical Creatures if you did it again and you begged her not to because you can’t stand the smell of dung that they all have.”

Hermia groaned, “So everyone heard then?”

“I think so, in fact I wouldn’t be surprised if they heard you in Magical Creatures. I’ll leave you to your coffee.”

The door opened and Teddy left, holding the door open for Ashtad, who slipped in silently and sat at the table close to Hermia. He looked at her slumped over the table and his heart softened, the irritation he had felt with her earlier melting away. He looked at her slender arms and noticed that her pale skin was covered in soft, light brown hair. Without thinking, he stretched out his fingers to stroke her arm. Just as he was about to make contact with her she spoke.

“Don’t think I don’t know you’re there Djalili, I can smell your cheap aftershave.”

His hand dropped onto the table with a soft thud.

“So you’re alright then? I heard Hermione was hard on you.”

“Huh, you and everyone else.” His tone was kind, not something she was used to from him. She was highly suspicious and waited for him to speak again. As her head was still on the table she couldn’t see him staring at her wrist. He had noticed a platinum bracelet, set with the bluest sapphires that he had ever seen.

“That’s a lovely bracelet Hermia. You weren’t wearing it last night.”

She finally sat up straight, rubbing her forehead. The sapphires glittered as they caught the light.

“Thanks. Jago gave it to me this morning before I left. He had it made in Italy. He’s so thoughtful.” A dreamy smile spread across her face.

“And Jago is…” It was a question, a plea for information.

“An old friend.” She took a sip of her coffee.

“Generous friend. I’ve got to get on, stuff to do.” Ashtad rose out of his chair suddenly and stalked away. Hermia wondered what sort of nasty plan he was formulating, oblivious to the brittle quality in his voice.

norenchen · 10-18-2009, 06:38 PM

Awh poor Ashtad : (

great post!!

PAMS

Shell

Erindipity · 10-18-2009, 07:30 PM

Love it!! Knew it was Hermia

PAMS

Paintbrush · 10-20-2009, 07:34 PM

Brilliant new story!

Yes I FINALLY got around to reading it.

Can't wait for more, love it to bits!

princess of*hp* · 10-21-2009, 01:10 AM

Brilliant! I love the flashback to Hermia's sorting.

And yes, I am warming to Ashtad.

HannahLongbottom · 10-21-2009, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by norenchen

Awh poor Ashtad : (

great post!!

PAMS

Shell

Poor Ashtad indeed. She's a bit of a moo, isn't she? and she hasn't finished yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginny37

Love it!! Knew it was Hermia

PAMS

Shhhh! Not everyone gets sneaky peaks y'know!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paintbrush

Brilliant new story!

Yes I FINALLY got around to reading it.

Can't wait for more, love it to bits!

Thanks that means a lot. Did I do OK with the French? Yours has got to be better than mine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by princess of*hp*

Brilliant! I love the flashback to Hermia's sorting.

And yes, I am warming to Ashtad.

Well, those who can remember the Red chapter from Bright Lights might know why she's in such an unfriendly mood. I'm glad you're warming to Ashtad, he's lovely really.

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