VERSACELF

VERSACELF

Chapter 2

Hermione apparated from Harry's building in the South Bank of London to her home in the Belgravia neighborhood of London. She ended up apparating into the front foyer. The house was dark and empty, which did nothing to improve her mood.

She placed her purse on a small table by the door and removed her jacket, carelessly draping it on top of her purse. After taking off her shoes in the hallway, Hermione padded down the hall to her kitchen to grab a bite to eat. It was after seven in the evening, so her butler and housekeeper had most likely retired to their quarters for the evening. Looking down on the counter, Hermione noticed that her housekeeper, Matilda, had left a warm plate for her along with a note that said she and her husband were in the servants' cottage should she need anything during the night. Sighing, Hermione put the note down and began to pick at the roast beef that was left out for her. For someone so wealthy and famous, she didn't have much to come home to in the evenings.

'Stupid Harry,' Hermione thought as she continued to poke at the food in front of her. 'Grow up indeed! He has no idea what he's going on about.' Hermione began to open the cupboards and took out a wineglass. Walking towards the far end of the kitchen, Hermione opened up a sliding door that she had turned into a wine cabinet. Bottles upon bottles of red wine filled up one side, while the other was piled high with white wine. Each side was temperature controlled to ensure that the red was always room temperature, and the white chilled to perfection. Grabbing a bottle of pinot noir, Hermione charmed her plate of food to follow her up the back stairs to the second floor where her suite was located.

Once in her room, Hermione changed into a comfortable pair of yoga pants and a tank top, sat on the floor in her sitting room, poured herself a glass of wine, and made a fire. She sat on the floor, staring at the flickering flames, lost in the warmth they emitted. She had thought about what Harry had said to her and decided that there was no need to bother Donatella, at least not today. She would deal with Malfoy on her own. Finishing her meal, she sat up straight, "Accio sketchbook!" Grabbing her sketchbook, she made her way downstairs to her office. In a few moments, she was busily working on designs for Parvati's wedding dress, as well as the bridesmaid gowns.

Hermione spent the next two hours completely immersed in sketching her designs, as well as working a bit on a miniature model of Mrs. Needs flat that she would be decorating in a few weeks. Satisfied that she had made up the afternoon she missed at work, Hermione stretched and was beginning to put away her materials when she heard the doorbell ring.

Ignoring it, she continued to put away her sketches and pens. 'Whoever it is can wait. There is no reason to arrive at someone's home without at least ringing me up first!'

"Miss Granger?"

Looking up, Hermione saw her Butler, Edward, standing at the doorway to her office.

"Oh, Edward! So sorry, did the bell disturb you? I was just about to run out and get..."

The old man smiled. He had been working for Hermione since she first bought the house five years ago. Never had he and his wife had such a compassionate and generous employer.

"No need to rush. I was on my way to check that everything was put away in the kitchen. And no matter, it's my job to answer you door."

"Edward, really, it's nearly eleven o' clock. Go back to bed, I can get the door."

"Oh, well, I have already answered it. There is a gentleman by the name of Draco Malfoy waiting for you in the foyer."

Gritting her teeth, Hermione had to stop herself from running past her butler and killing Malfoy right in her front hall. Taking a deep breath, she smiled sweetly at the old man, "Thank you Edward. Really, I am alright. I will see you in the morning."

With a slight bow, Edward walked out of her office. Cursing under her breath, Hermione walked out of her office and into the front hall. Standing there was, just as Edward had announced, Draco Malfoy, dressed in a muggle coat and carrying a bottle of wine, a briefcase, and a book under his arm.

"I don't care for cheap wine Malfoy, and I have plenty of books and an array of briefcases, so you can take your goods elsewhere." Turning around, Draco gave Hermione a sly smile and walked towards her.

"Now Granger, that's no way to treat you new boss," he sneered, relishing in the look on Hermione's face when he said the word 'boss.' "And for your information, this," lifting the bottle of wine, "Is a great bottle of Madeira. And this fine briefcase is mine. However, the book, well, that's for you." He put down his briefcase, took the book from under his arm, and handed it to Hermione.

Snatching the book from Draco, Hermione took a look at the cover. Muggle Mayhem: Muggle Contraptions in the Modern Wizard World. Hermione's eyes widened a bit. It was a book that she was browsing through at the shop that afternoon.

"You left in such a rush, and I assumed since you were looking at it so intently I assumed that you wanted it."

"Well, you're already inside, might as well show you some courtesy. Come on." Hermione began walking towards a room with impressive French doors by the front hallway. Draco stopped to admire the intricate moldings on the doorframe as Hermione muttered a spell. Light filled the room and a fire was blazing.

"Nice room. Is this where you ply your victims with drinks before dragging them to the dungeons for a night of torture?"

"Isn't that what your family does?" Hermione sat down on one of the couches and gestured for Draco to take a seat as well.

"When I purchased this home, they called this room the front parlour. I use it mainly for receiving my guests and formal tea."

"So proper granger, one would think you were born into high society."

Frowning, Hermione leaned back. "Isn't it past your bedtime Malfoy? I have to be in the office early in the morning and don't have time for your crap tonight."

"Tsk, tsk. Bit feisty in the evenings. Honestly, granger, quit looking like you swallowed curdled milk." Draco finally took a seat, transfiguring the coasters on the coffee table into wine glasses and pouring himself and Hermione each a glass. He took his and sipped the wine gingerly. Hermione remained seated.

"This is an impressive home, Granger. Sure beats that flat you and your boyfriends got after Hogwarts." Hermione frowned again. She then stood up abruptly and grabbed Draco's glass, hurling it into the fireplace.

"Who the hell do you think you are, hm?" Hermione leaned forward, her eyes casting dangerous looks at Draco. "You ruin my lunch, my afternoon, and now my evening! You may be my new boss, but you have no right to show up on my doorstep late at night with the intent to just piss me off!"

Draco, seemingly unaffected by Hermione's outburst, leaned back and made himself more comfortable on the chair he was occupying.

Seeing that he was not about to flee willingly, Hermione sank back onto the sofa and groaned. "Why are you here Malfoy?" Hermione looked at Draco, her eyes almost pleading at him. "Isn't it enough that you get to boss me about now, must you show up at my home and make me miserable here as well?"

Draco sat up, his chin resting on his arm that was propped up on the chair. He thought for a moment.

"You know, I didn't intend to come by. I was curious however to see this grand home of your that all the ladies at tea titter about. And then, well, I went out for a bit of a night out with some friends and I am a bit pissed so I can't very well leave right now, see, I might get splinched."

A low growl escaped from Hermione's throat. She grabbed Draco by his sleeve and with a force even she didn't recognize, she pulled him off the chair. With her wand, she levitated him out into the front hall and dropped him down.

"Oof!" Draco turned over, rubbing his side. Casting a glare at Hermione, he got up slowly to face a rather agitated Hermione.

"I don't give a damn if you're splinched. I need to get to bed and be up in time to make a seven-thirty meeting which I believe you're now presiding over, so my morning is soured up by your presence once again." Hermione nodded towards the door, arms crossed over her chest.

Draco held up a hand as if to keep her away. "Alright, Granger, don't give yourself a heart-attack. I'll leave, but it does make my evening better to know that I get to see you in the morning," chuckled Draco. Picking up his briefcase, he walked towards the front door. "Oh, before I forget." Taking the briefcase he was carrying he walked over to Hermione and placed it at her feet. "I'll leave this here. It contains some paperwork regarding the company that I was going over and a few things I wanted you to look over. I would like a short, but detailed presentation of the current state of the company, as well as the various projects that we're involved in, projected designs for the Fall line, and the names of the designers working on them. I'm thinking, let's see, twenty minutes, as well a written proposal with sketches of the Fall fashions and interior designs--let's make it at least fifteen pages, hm? Have a lovely evening." With a wink, he opened the front door and shut it. Hermione heard a small pop!

Fuming, Hermione grabbed the briefcase and flung it towards the door. Several parchments and papers flew out and littered the front hall. Picking them all up with her wand, she brought everything into her office and sat down at her desk. Grabbing her sketchbook and her muggle laptop, Hermione set out to work the rest of the evening. Riffling through a few of the documents Draco left her, she got her wand and separated them into different piles according to their subject. Then, after conjuring up a pot of coffee, Hermione began work on her presentation.

It was nearly three in the morning when Hermione finished her sketches for the fall line, typed her proposal, wrote a bit about the upcoming summer shows, as well as a detailed list of the company's clients. Sighing a she sipped her coffee, Hermione surveyed her work. For someone who was severely lacking sleep, she truly outdid herself. She magically made up copies of her presentation for all the board members, shrunk all her materials and placed them in her own briefcase. Making it slowly up the stairs, Hermione managed to make it to her room and fall asleep without even bothering to change her clothes.

*~*

'BRRRRRRRRRIIINNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! Wake Up! You'll be late!'

'Ugh,'thought Hermione as her hand deftly reached over to her bedside table to turn her alarm clock off. 'I need to stick with a muggle one..one that does not talk!'

The sun was barely rising as Hermione rolled out of bed. 'Five-ten,' she read on the clock face. 'Brilliant, two hours of sleep to get me through this morning.' Stretching, Hermione leaned over and reached into her bedside table for her emergency bottle of pepper-up potion. After drinking nearly the entire bottle, Hermione finally felt ready to get out of bed and start her day.

After a quick shower, Hermione stood inside her closet, carefully thinking of what to wear. She picked out a dark brown pants suit with a simple beige shirt to wear underneath. Dressing quickly, she swept her thick brown hair into a low ponytail, slipped on a pair of brown and gold pumps, and picked out a matching purse. Looking out, Hermione could see that the sky was gray and the ground looked damp from the morning mist. 'Perfectly dreary. Mother Nature must have sensed how I feel.' She could smell coffee and bacon wafting up from the kitchens. Walking down the stairs, she saw that her housekeeper, Matilda Castleton, and her husband Edward, the butler, were already working on the house ledger, figuring out what needed to be bought for the next week. Two girls in their late teens were magically cleaning the front parlour and the living room.

"Good Morning Miss Hermione." Turning towards the soft voice, Hermione smiled at her housekeeper, Matilda as she set a cup of coffee and some chocolate biscuits on the breakfast table. Sitting down, Hermione picked up the copy of the Daily Prophet and scanned the business page. She was pleased to see that the VERSACELF stocks were doing well.

"I saw the light in your office was on till late, so I brewed you an extra-strong cup this morning."

"Thanks Matilda. Please make sure that Edward sees that my briefcase is in the front hall. I have an early meeting this morning."

Edward and Matilda smiled as they went about their morning duties. Edward promptly went into the front hall to set out Hermione's briefcase, as well as pick out a camel coloured coat for her to wear out. There was a slight chill in the November morning and he would never wish it upon his mistress to catch a cold.

Hermione hurriedly ate her breakfast and was in the front-hall by six-fifteen. Saying good-bye to the servants, she stepped out into the cold November day.

*~*

"Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen. Let me begin with a few introductions I suppose. My name is Draco Malfoy, and, as of today, I have been elected to serve as Chairman of the Board here at VERSACELF. I know this may seem like a rather hasty decision," a few heads nodded up and down as they stared at their new chairman, "however, I believe that we will all, in time, work together to make this company much more lucrative and prestigious in our world."

Hermione stifled a laugh as Draco continued with his speech to the members of the board. She was idly doodling on a piece of parchment when she heard her name called out.

"Ms. Granger? If you're not too busy plotting my untimely and surely accidental death, would you be so kind as to start your presentation?" Murmurs spread in the room. Many of the board members remembered vaguely the animosity between Hermione and Draco, mainly from gossip and stories that they had heard from friends of their children. Glaring, Hermione rose and began to enlarge her sketches as her assistant passed out her proposal.

"Well, we're all off to a fantastic start this morning, aren't we? Mr. Malfoy was kind enough to suggest that I offer this presentation to the board." Draco just winked as Hermione began to speak. She dimmed the lights in the boardroom and waved her wand over her sketches.

"As you can see from the information that was just passed out to you, I have included several lists of our most prominent clients, sketches for next year's fall line, several fabric swatches that I intend to use, and a few interior sketches of the Ministry building here in London and New York that have contracted VERSACELF to redecorate both their reception rooms and front lobby. I have also included the sales from our more moderately priced ready-to-wear stores. As for the lines, I am planning on bringing back classic muggle 50's look, with a bit of a flair for the wizarding world. I will be working on cloaks especially for wizards who work both in the wizarding world and the muggle world. These cloaks would, as soon as one is in either world, transfigure into the appropriate attire. This line should be ready to launch during the summer shows..."

Hermione continued on with her presentation, receiving many approving nods and claps from the board members. She was undeterred by the smirk on Draco's face. As she finished, she received a round of applause from most of the board members. They all bid her good-bye and apparated out of the boardroom. Trili, Hermione's assistant shrank all of Hermione's material and headed back to her office. Draco remained in the room, flipping through the information that Hermione had handed out. As Hermione turned to step out of the room, a hand held her back.

'Damn' she thought.

"I have clients and designers to meet with this morning, Malfoy, so make this quick."

"I will. I just wanted to say that your presentation was great. I'm impressed. Perhaps, if you're not too booked around midday, you might come by my office so we can continue to discuss your ideas?"

Hermione searched Draco's face for any signs of malice. Finding nothing but a glint in his eyes, she sighed.

"I have plans for lunch. Have your assistant speak to mine; she knows my schedule better than I do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

Draco let go of Hermione's arm. 'This is going to be an interesting.'