Breakfast at Natalie's

Hermione felt slightly lightheaded when she came to. She was startled to see an unfamiliar man standing over her. He was short and stocky, with a stubbly chin and prominent ears. He was wearing a greenish sweater that had probably been washed many times, judging by the number of lint balls clinging to the cuffs.

"Who--" she began.

"None of your business," he said roughly, lighting a cigarette. "Just keep quiet and do what I tell you." She tried to say something, but she couldn't figure out what she wanted to say. Why did she want to say something anyway? She was just supposed to listen to this man. "Now then," he said, glancing at her. "You're gonna drink this potion"--he patted a lump in his pocket--"and then you're gonna follow me."

"Wh--" said Hermione, but her lips went slack immediately.

"No questions," said the man, taking the bottle out of his pocket. She recognized it as Polyjuice Potion. "Drink it."

She uncapped it, her hands moving automatically, as if she couldn't control them. She tilted the potion down her throat and shuddered as it hit her stomach. A second later, she felt the familiar gurgling in her stomach, and her body began to stretch and contort. Moments later, she stood straight again. The man looked at her and gave her a nod of satisfaction. Then he too swallowed a potion and transformed into Gideon, or at least someone who looked very much like Gideon. He coughed, wiped his mouth on his sleeve, and tossed her a worn handbag.

"Sling that 'round your shoulder," he said. "It'll look more natural."

He led her back down to the entrance of the storeroom and opened the door to peek out.

"All clear," he said. "Let's go."

He began walking down the long hallway, and Hermione followed him, her feet moving forward of their own accord. She didn't think that she could have stopped or gone back if she'd wanted to. Not that she did anyway. She felt some sort of inner urge to follow him, although there was a tiny voice in the back of her brain that was nagging at her.

Why are you following him? said the voice. You don't even know this man.

But why shouldn't I follow him? she argued back. He's not doing me any harm.

Don't do it. Stop. Right now.

I don't want to stop.

Yes, you do. Now stop.

She shook her head to clear the voice, and she looked up when the man cursed under his breath.

"She's a fighter," he muttered.

"Sorry?" said Hermione. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," he said, looking at her warily. They kept walking until they were outside. "Damn," he said, stopping abruptly. "I need you to call your boss--that woman you work with."

"Marion?" she volunteered.

"Yeah. You need to give her a ring and tell her that you need to leave."

"But...I..."

"Just do it. There's a phone booth somewhere around here."

There was indeed a phone booth nearby, and the two of them managed to squeeze themselves inside.

"Start dialing," he said, and she couldn't help but obey.

"Hello?" said a voice on the other end.

"Marion?" said Hermione. "It's me, Hermione. I, um, need to leave."

"Hermione?" said Marion, sounding confused. "You sound really different."

"I..."

"You're ill," hissed the man.

"I'm...not feeling well," said Hermione.

"Cough," commanded the man.

"What?" said Hermione, turning to him.

"I said, cough," he whispered a little louder. She coughed into the phone.

"I think I'll have to take the rest of the afternoon off," said Hermione.

"You don't sound too well," said Marion. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"It's probably just one of those twenty-four hour things," said Hermione, lying fluidly now. "I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow."

"Alright," said Marion reluctantly. "But call early if you're not feeling well so that we can find someone to fill your shift."

"Will do," said Hermione.

"Oh, wait. Did you get inventory done?"

"Gave it to Gideon," said the man.

"I gave it to Gideon," said Hermione into the phone. "It should be taken care of."

"Alright. Just making sure. I hope you feel better then."

"Thanks. Bye."

She hung up the phone and looked at the man expectantly. He was studying her, his eyes roaming over her face. It would typically be nerve-wracking, but she felt calm and cool.

"Right then," he said, uncrossing his arms and pushing open the booth's rickety door. "Follow me."

They walked through the bustling city, crossing street after street. Luckily, the wind had died down a bit, so her face wasn't too cold. Finally, they stopped in front of a very ordinary flat. The man fumbled in his pockets for a key, and then he stepped inside, motioning for her to come in.

The flat was just as ordinary on the inside: a small kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, and a closet or two. Just the basics. There seemed to be no one home.

"J--"

"Right here," said another man, coming out from the bedroom. He glanced at Hermione. "What is she doing here?

"I thought you wanted me to bring her to you," said the man.

"Yes, but not today! Weren't you listening when I called that meeting a couple days ago? I said I wanted you to bring her to me, but not immediately. And definitely not at a time where it would arouse suspicion. What were you thinking, kidnapping her from work? That bloke that she lives with will know that something's up."

"Sorry," mumbled the man shamefacedly. Hermione felt a stab of pity for him.

"Take her back," said the man. "Take her home, to work, wherever. Just not here. You'll need to hang out around her for a bit, figure out her habits and whatnot. This is organized crime for God's sake. We're not fooling around here."

They were talking about her as if she wasn't even in the room with them. Anger welled up, and she started to say something, but she was immediately silenced by the wave of a wand.

"And you'll need to use a Memory Charm on her," said the man. "Not a strong one, mind you. We don't need her completely blank. Just make her forget the past couple hours or so."

The short man raised his wand.

"Actually, let me do it," said the other man. Before Hermione could protest, he had already uttered a spell. "Stupefy!"

"I thought you said you were doing a Memory Charm," said the short man, catching Hermione before she hit the floor, unconscious.

"Yes, but if I did the charm before she was unconscious, she'd still remember seeing us." He rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe how stupid this bloke was. It had been a huge mistake to hire him. He pointed his wand at Hermione again. "Obliviate! Now, take her back before she wakes up. You'll want to Apparate; it's faster."

"Do you want me to report back afterwards?" said the man, struggling with Hermione's limp body.

"No," he replied. "I'll call you back if I need you. Just keep a tab on her and tell me everything that's going on. And I mean everything. Study her habits. Now, go. She'll be waking up soon."

The man finally managed to position Hermione in his arms, and headed for the door. "Oh yeah, I need the address," he called over his shoulder.

The other man scribbled something on a napkin and held it up for him to read. "Got it?"

"Yeah," he said. "But could you get the door?"

The door was held open for him, and then shut as soon as he stepped outside, nearly catching his sleeve. Grunting, he spun around and disappeared with a loud crack.

-----------------------

"Hermione?" said Natalie, opening the door. "What are you doing home so early? I just barely got back."

"I...I don't really know," she said.

"Well, hurry up and come in," said Natalie, looking at her worriedly. "You're letting all the cold air in."

Hermione stepped inside, grateful for the blazing fire that she could feel from the hallway.

"Amy is still upstairs with the children," said Natalie, going into the spacious kitchen. "Shall I make you a cup of tea? You look pale."

"That would be lovely," said Hermione, sitting down. In a few minutes, Natalie had water boiling on the stove, and then she placed a steaming cupful of tea in front of Hermione.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"I feel...a little dizzy," said Hermione, taking a small sip and wincing when it burned her tongue. "Just tired, I guess."

"Maybe you'll feel better after a nap," suggested Natalie. "I'll see Amy out and get dinner going so that it'll be ready when Draco comes home."

"Are you sure you don't want me to help?" said Hermione, feeling a little guilty for making Natalie do all the housework.

"Trust me, I've got it covered. You don't have to worry about a thing."

"Thanks, Natalie. I really appreciate this."

She finished sipping her tea, and then excused herself to go upstairs. As she made her way to her bedroom, she could hear talking and giggling coming from the children's playroom. Satisfied, she went into her bedroom, changed into more comfortable clothing, and then fell asleep.

At about a quarter past five, Malfoy entered the house. Amy had left about an hour ago, and the children were in the kitchen helping Natalie prepare dinner. She had given them each small tasks to keep them busy. Riley was setting the table in a rather haphazardly way, and Cassie was stirring the stew to make sure it didn't stick to the pot and burn.

"Something smells good," said Malfoy, walking into the kitchen.

"Uncle Draco!" came a shout in unison, as Cassie and Riley both abandoned their stations to hug him.

"Hey, there, champs," he said, ruffling their hair. They giggled, pleased with the attention. He turned to Natalie, who was checking the oven. "Where's Hermione?"

"She's taking a nap," answered Natalie.

"What?" said Malfoy, alarmed. Hermione never took naps. "Is she alright?"

"I think so," said Natalie, now chopping tomatoes for the salad. "She was just a little tired, so I told her I'd watch the kids for her and do dinner. Why don't you go and wake her? Everything's just about done."

"I'm done," announced Riley.

"Good job," said Natalie. "Cassie, you can stop stirring now." She turned the heat off and set the pot aside.

Malfoy went up the stairs and quietly opened the door to Hermione's room. She was curled up on her side, sleeping peacefully, a faint tinge of pink to her cheeks.

"Hermione?" he said quietly, reaching out to touch her arm. She didn't wake, so he called a little louder. "Hermione?"

"Mmm?" she said, stirring. "Oh, you're home."

"How are you feeling?" he asked, feeling her forehead. "Nope, no fever."

"I'm fine," she said, standing up unsteadily. "Just tired, that's all."

"Well, dinner's ready," he said, offering his arm for her to lean on. He helped her down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Natalie had set out salad and then bread bowls for the soup.

"This looks wonderful, Natalie," said Hermione. "Really, I don't know what we'd do without you."

"Starve, I suppose," she said, and they laughed. She ladled the stew into their bowls and passed around the pitcher of cold pumpkin juice, specially ordered from the Leaky Cauldron every week.

"Oh, I was going to remind you," said Malfoy, after everyone had taken a few bites. "Pansy's Christmas party is next week."

"I'd completely forgotten about that," said Hermione. "It's surprising how fast the time's gone by. I see the holiday decorations everywhere, but I didn't realize it was so close to Christmas."

"Yeah," said Malfoy. "But she called me at work today and told me that she'd decided to make it a costume party."

Natalie snickered. "Oooh, what are you going as?"

"I don't know yet," said Malfoy, shaking his head. "But she says that she wants you to come too, as well as Cassie and Riley. There'll be plenty of kids for them to play with. She's invited practically everyone in our year."

"Oh, good," said Hermione. "I haven't seen anyone in ages."

"And I've never met your friends," said Natalie. "I can't wait."

"Yeah," agreed Malfoy. "But I figured that we should go costume shopping or something this weekend. We'll take the kids and get them something too."

"Do you know of any costume shops?" asked Hermione.

"Pansy gave me a list of some ones nearby," said Malfoy. "But is that alright with you?"

"Sounds perfectly fun to me," said Natalie.

"I don't have a problem with it," said Hermione.

"Alright, then we'll go on Saturday. But, er, some of the shops may not be...appropriate for the kids." He blushed.

"I'll take them to a children's shop while you buy your costumes," volunteered Natalie. "And then Draco can watch them while Hermione helps me choose mine."

"That's a good idea," said Hermione, and Malfoy nodded.

"I'm so excited," said Natalie. "I already know what I want to go as."