The Minister's Daughter

3. Girl's Night Out

Hermione's eyes opened wide as she tried to get everything in with one look. What once was the building's basement had been turned into a dimly lit, loud, crammed-with-twirling-people club.

The neon lights Hermione had expected to see were all inside the club, providing most of the illumination. Some of the neon signs advertised beer brands. Others simply displayed short phrases like "Live Loud!" or what seemed to be the outline of a couple dancing.

Several small, round tables were placed at the right side of the club, with a long bar behind them. A line of stools could be seen on the opposite side. Groups of people or couples sat in there. The dance floor, which occupied most of the space, was crowded with people. Towards the back wall, the D.J., along with all of his sound equipment, stood on a stage raised above the crowd.

Sarah pulled Hermione to the area where the tables sat. They had just barely stopped when a funky looking guy walked up to them and asked Sarah to dance. "I'll be back," Sarah shouted over the music and followed him quickly into the dance floor.

Hermione waved at her and smiled as she saw the guy's weird dancing style. She took a deep breath, still not believing she was actually there. She had finally gotten the courage to do what she had thought about doing so many times before: sneak out.

She turned her head around, checking things out. As she spotted the bar behind her, she remembered what Sarah said about underage drinking. A half smile appeared on her face. She was not new to alcohol, although she had only been introduced to champagne and wine.

Thinking this might be a good time to try something different, she headed to the bar. As she was walking, she saw the bunch of people yelling their orders to the two barmen, who didn't seem to have enough hands to get all the orders ready.

She stood there, behind the maddened people, watching them. When she finally decided to order a drink, she tried to step forward, but it seemed that at least half of the people in the club had decided to get drinks as well.

No mattered how hard she tried to reach the counter, people kept on pushing her aside and cutting in before her. At that pace, she'd be lucky if she could get something to drink by that time next week.

Her patience was nearing the breaking point when a huge guy stepped over her toes nearly squashing them flat. She groaned both in pain and frustration, closing her fists tight. Right then, a girl moved aside, leaving a clear path for Hermione.

Hurriedly, she walked forward and held the counter tightly to make sure nobody would push her away. The problem now was getting the barmen's attention. She raised her hand; she raised her voice. Nothing seemed to work. Hermione's eyes narrowed dangerously as she stared at the barman closest to her.

As if feeling her gaze on him, the barman turned to her. He smiled and walked towards her.

"Hi, there!" he greeted. "What can I get you, babe?"

Hermione stared at him open mouthed for his sudden reaction. Since she was not saying anything, a guy standing next to her took the opportunity to order his drink. The barman, however, stopped him in mid sentence.

"Ladies first, you idiot!" he yelled at the guy.

Coming out of her reverie, Hermione ordered the first thing that came to her mind. "A beer?" she said, in what sounded more like a question.

Seconds later, a mug was placed before her. "The best beer we got," the barman told her. When Hermione tried to pay him, he quickly shook his head. "It's on the house!" he said, giving her his biggest grin.

After mouthing a quick thanks to the barman, Hermione walked away. "That was odd!" she thought. But she quickly forgot about it when she spotted Sarah dance-walking towards her.

"There you are!" Sarah said, once she was within hearing range. "Wait here. I'll go get a drink for myself."

Less than five minutes later, Sarah came back, a mug in her hands. Hermione's jaw hit the floor. A grunting sound came out of her as she stared dumbstruck at the drink in Sarah's hand. She couldn't believe Sarah had gotten it so quickly when it had taken her ages to do it.

"What?" asked Sarah after taking a sip of her beer.

Hermione shook her head. "Forget it," she simply said.

After swallowing a bit more beer, Sarah raised her hand and waved it furiously. "My friends!" she said after the liquid get down her throat. "C'mon! I want you to meet them."

Without waiting for Hermione's reply, Sarah took her hand and pulled her through the crowd until they reached a table towards the back. A group of seven people sat around the tiny round table. An almost empty bottle of tequila sat amidst several shot glasses. Sarah introduced Hermione to the two girls and five guys sitting there. She was glad that Sarah introduced her to her friends as 'Hermione', no titles attached, not even her last name.

Someone quickly pulled a chair for Hermione while Sarah opted for sitting in one of the guys' lap. The guy sitting next to Hermione, who had been introduced as Prentiss, waved his hand to the waiter and motioned him to bring another bottle to the table.

They were all chatting and laughing loudly. Most likely, it was as a result of the now empty bottle (Sarah had just emptied the remainders of the bottle into a shot glass). In one quick movement, she emptied the glass down her throat. She made a raspy sound and quickly reached out for a slice of lime from a bowl on the table.

Hermione stared at her for a while. After the shot of tequila, Sarah went back to her beer.

"So," said Prentiss to Hermione. "Where are you from?"

As soon as he heard the word London, he started telling Hermione about a backpacking trip he had taken to Europe with two of the guys sitting in front of them. Hermione got to hear some of the adventures they went through when they had to interact with non-English speaking people.

His story was interrupted when a new bottle of tequila was placed on the table. Prentiss grabbed two shot glasses and filled them up. "Here," he said, taking Hermione's mug from her hands and giving her a shot glass instead.

She looked at the glass. It had lipstick marks on it. By the shade of it, it looked like the girl Sarah was talking to had already used it.

"Bottoms up!" urged her Prentiss. Hermione turned the glass around to a spot that looked lipstick free. She stared at the clear liquid. "It doesn't look too threatening," she thought. "Perhaps if I take one quick sip like Sarah, it may not be that bad."

With that idea in mind, she raised her hand and pushed the liquid into her mouth. The outcome, however, was not what Hermione had expected. A burning sensation went down her throat as the liquid ran slowly to her stomach.

Instinctively, Hermione shut her eyes tightly as they got watery. She almost spat some of her drink into Prentiss' face as she started coughing furiously. Laughing at her reaction, he slapped her in the back, leaving Hermione rather sore.

"The first time is always the hardest," Prentiss told her as he grabbed the glass from her hands and refilled it. "Try again!" he suggested.

"Oh! I don't know," said Hermione hesitantly.

Somehow, the attention of all eight people at the table turned to her. Sarah and her friends cheered Hermione on. "You can do it, Hermione!" shouted Sarah, still sitting on her friend's lap.

Taking one deep breath, Hermione closed her eyes and, once again, hurried the liquid down. Even though she still felt the liquid burning her throat, she had to admit it hadn't been as bad as the first one.

This time, she had only coughed a couple times and her eyes were no longer watery. "Here!" said Sarah, handing a piece of lime to Hermione. "This helps."

Hermione took it and squeezed it in her mouth. The sour taste of the lime did seem to relieve her throat. Minutes later, Prentiss pushed her mug, or at least she thought it was her mug, back into her hand.

At least, she'd be able to say she had tried something different when she was back home.

........................................

Later that night, Ms. Warrington stirred in bed, suddenly feeling thirsty. Sleepily, she stretched her hand out to the glass sitting on the nightstand. Because the room was dark and her eyes were mostly closed, Ms. Warrington knocked the glass over before she could grab it.

The glass fell to the carpeted floor, spilling the water. "Oh no!" she thought. With a sigh of frustration, she got up lazily and walked to the bathroom to grab some towels. When she was returning to her bed, she noticed something.

A stream of light was coming form underneath the door that connected with Hermione's room.

Ms. Warrington shook her head, turning to the alarm clock on the nightstand. It read 1:49 a.m. It wasn't the first time that Hermione had stayed up late reading. Ms. Warrington was about to go back to bed when she decided against it. Quite often, Hermione would fall asleep with her book still in her hands, which meant that the light stayed on all night long.

Dragging her feet, Ms. Warrington walked to the door and opened it. She turned to face the bed and was surprised to find it empty. She went to the bathroom and knocked on the door. After waiting for an answer that didn't come, Ms. Warrington opened the door. Scattered in the floor were some of the undergarments Hermione had taken off before her shower and a still damp towel.

Hermione had also left some items lying carelessly on the sink's counter: her brush, make-up and perfume. Ms. Warrington was puzzled by the mess. She remembered putting everything back into the make-up case after Hermione had gotten ready for the event at the museum.

But the thing that worried her the most was the fact that Hermione was not in the hotel room. Hurriedly, she left Hermione's room and ran to Parker's down the hall. She knocked furiously. Seconds later, Parker opened the door, wearing his pajamas and peering at her sleepily.

"Ms. Granger's gone!" she almost yelled at him. "Parker!" she said, placing a hand in his shoulder and shaking him awake. "She's gone! She's not in her room."

Finally, Parker's mind processed the information. Without replying to the shouting woman before him, he ran to the Prime Minister's room. Parker knocked a couple of times and then stormed in the room before the Minister could even open his eyes.

"Sir," Parker started, but Ms. Warrington, who had ran after him, talked first.

"Miss Granger's gone, sir! She's not in her room." The Minister's eyes opened wide as he listened to her. "I woke up and wanted to drink some water, but I spilled it. So, I went to get some towels from the bathroom. That's when I noticed light coming from her room. I walked in and... she's gone, sir."

As Ms. Warrington said all that in one breath, Mr. Granger had gotten out of bed and thrown his night robe over his pajamas. Parker, who now seemed quite awake, looked expectantly at him.

"Thank you for informing me, Ms. Warrington," he said, trying his best not to show in his voice the anxiety he was feeling. "You can go back to bed now. We'll take care of it."

Reluctantly, Ms. Warrington started heading back to her room. She wanted to be informed, but she knew perfectly well that she was not entitled to question the Minister or his agents about their moves.

After she closed the door behind them, Mr. Granger turned to Parker. "Get a team ready," he said placing a hand in his back and steering him to the door. "Get dressed and come back here in five minutes."

Parker looked confusedly at his boss. Sure the Minister sounded and looked a bit stressed, but he didn't seem as upset as Parker expected he would be. This was the first time that Hermione had disappeared like this. Besides, they were in a foreign country. Hermione didn't know her way around. Still, Maurice did as he was told.

When Mr. Granger was left alone in his room, he quickly pulled the little piece of parchment Mr. Weasley had given him out of his coat. With trembling hands, he dialed the number written on it.

After a couple of rings, someone at the other end of the phone answered.

"Potter?" the Minister asked. "My daughter's missing. I want you to locate her immediately and, as soon as you do, call Parker to inform him. Go after her, but do not approach her unless it's completely necessary."

"Yes, Sir." A reply came.

"Oh! And Potter," Mr. Granger quickly added. "Make sure she's safe and out of trouble."

..............................................

Hermione's cheeks hurt from so much laughing. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed this much. Sarah's friends turned out to be quite a funny lot. Five of them were now in the dance floor, dancing together in one circle.

She had been invited to dance with them, but after a third shot of tequila she had started to feel dizzy. The last thing she wanted was to fall flat on her face right in the middle of the dance floor.

Besides Judith, the girl Hermione was talking to, a couple had remained at the table as they had gotten into a frenzy snogging session. Judith had been telling Hermione all about her wonderful boyfriend. Hermione couldn't help to envy her. She wished that she had someone who cared for her and loved her that much. Just then, she noticed something.

A tall man, dressed in a black suit, was scanning the club with his strong gaze while covering his right ear with his hand, as if trying to hear a whisper. The sight of him caused her breathing to accelerate. She knew that it was one of her father's agents. Quickly, she scanned the rest of the place as well.

There was another agent standing by the bar. He was not wearing the usual black suit, but he was also doing the hand-in-the-ear thing and seemed to be talking to himself. Hermione was able to spot two more agents, Parker being one of them.

Hermione stood up, but remained somewhat hunched so they wouldn't see her. She said a quick 'got to go' to Judith and walked hurriedly towards the dance floor to reach Sarah.

"They've found me," she whispered in Sarah's ear.

Sarah looked in the direction Hermione's finger pointed at one of the agents. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

Hermione's mind was frantically trying to answer that question. She didn't fancy being found by the agents and escorted out, as some kind of criminal. Seconds later, something clicked in her mind.

"I have an idea!" she said. "But I'm going to need your help."

...................................................

Harry Potter Apparated outside the old, crumbling building. His well-trained eyes scanned his surroundings. The area seemed quite deserted. Taking his wand out of his inner pocket, he murmured a spell.

A tiny sphere of light that could easily be mistaken for a firefly suddenly appeared before him, hovering at midair. The locator glided around for a while without a precise direction, as if searching. Suddenly, it stopped.

Seconds later, it started to move again. This time, however, it seemed to have a direction. Harry followed it. The locator guided him to a side alley and straight to a camouflaged door. Just before opening the door, Harry pulled his invisibility cloak over his head. It had been kept in the backpack hanging from Harry's shoulders.

The locator got in first and guided Harry through the hall, down the stairs and to the last door. In an instant, the locator dissolved away. After Harry whispered 'Alohomora', the door opened. He hurried in as the big guy who guarded the entrance stared blankly at the door. Not sure of what had happened, the guard closed it and went back to his drink.

Taking care not to bump into anybody, Harry moved through the crowd. He spotted an empty chair, walked towards it and stepped on it. From there, he searched the crowd, looking for the reason he'd had to get up this late.

As his green eyes scanned the area, he noticed the agents scattered through the crowd. "Brilliant!" he thought sarcastically, looking at the black suited men. "They sure are great at blending in."

Soon after, he saw her. She and another girl, Harry had no idea who she was, were leaving the dance floor. Harry realized Hermione had also seen the agents. She was trying to hunch while walking and looked from one agent to the other, probably making sure they wouldn't see her.

Following the two girls with his eyes, Harry saw them walking towards the bathroom. Harry's mind quickly figured out what they were about to do. Quickly, he got down from the chair and went back to the door. He pulled it open and walked out, leaving behind a very confused guard.

...........................................................

Sarah and Hermione ran towards the bathroom. Trying to get in quickly, they didn't notice two girls walking out. Inevitably, they bumped into them causing one of the girls, who seemed to be quite drunk, to start laughing loudly, calling a lot of attention.

Hermione looked back just in time to see that one of the agents had spotted her. Hurriedly, she ran into the bathroom. Hermione ran to the narrow window in the back wall. Because the club was in the building's basement, the window was seven feet high.

Sarah joined her hands and leaned forward to give Hermione a push up. Fortunately, the window didn't give her much trouble when she pushed it open. With Sarah's help and some strength she didn't know she had Hermione pulled herself up and through the small window.

As she was crawling out into the back alley, she was able to hear a few girls yelling at a man that wanted to get inside the bathroom. Hermione knew perfectly well that the man was looking for her.

Once she stood up, she realized she was in the back of the building. Trying to get away and hide somewhere, Hermione ran fast as she could.

...............................................

As soon as Harry was out of the building, he took off his cloak and threw it inside his backpack. Trying to guess where Hermione would be coming out, he walked towards the front of the building.

Then, an idea came to his mind. He turned around, looking up and down the street. His eyes found what he had hoped to find. He ran across the street where a black motorcycle was chained to a street sign.

Taking his wand out, he quickly got rid of the chain. He was just removing it when he heard running footsteps behind him. He turned around and came face to face with Hermione Granger.

Hermione froze in the spot. There, standing in front of her, was the handsome bloke she had seen the night before in the museum. He was now wearing blue jeans, a white tee and a worn-out leather jacket. His lovely raven hair was all messy, but it looked so darn cute on him. She had to admit that, no matter what he was wearing, he looked good enough to eat.

Harry smiled at her, trying to gain her trust, although he suspected that was not going to be a problem.

Looking at his heart-melting smile, Hermione almost forgot she was running away. Her legs trembled a bit. Whether due to the alcohol she had consumed or the effect he was having on her, Hermione didn't know.

"Hello," he said, trying to make her talk. He was sure the agents would come out any minute.

"This may sound rather odd..." she started saying without even replying to his greeting. "But I was wondering if..."

She suddenly stopped as she heard the building's front door opened and a pair of agents walked out, just as another one came running from behind the building.

Quickly, Harry climbed in the motorcycle. "C'mon!" he said.

Throwing all rational thought aside, Hermione quickly climbed on behind him and held on to his waist. Hoping Hermione wouldn't notice, Harry tapped the bike with his wand and it quickly turned on.

Just as the agents were about to reach them, Harry sped off with the Prime Minister's daughter tightly pressed to his back.