It's Only Pretend

IT'S ONLY PRETEND

First Impressions

Chapter Six

Harry gave Hermione's arm a light squeeze as they stepped off the lift and walked toward The Magician's Table. The restaurant was located down a long hallway and down a large spiraling staircase. Two wizards in elaborate robes stood on either side of the large golden doors. When Harry and Hermione approached, they opened the doors wide and greeted them.

Hermione tried not to look amazed as they stepped into the restaurant, but it took all she had. It was opulent and decorated with deep shades of color--dark blue walls with silver stars sparkling and shifting within the paint, deep mahogany wood floors, table clothes lined in rich crimson, pewter table settings and candelabras. The entire room flickered with soft candlelight; a grand piano in the corner was magicked to play soothing music that floated through the room. She glanced up at the ceiling, and like the entrance foyer, it was alive with planets and constellations. She couldn't help but smile.

"This way please," a wizard said, and Harry and Hermione followed him to their table. "You are meeting the Morgans, no?" he asked.

"Yes," Hermione said as she thanked the wizard for pulling out her chair.

"They will be here shortly."

"Thank you," Harry said.

As Hermione sat down, she turned her gaze back up toward the ceiling. Upon seeing her enjoyment the wizard leaned down close to her.

"You are from London, no?" he asked.

"Well, yes. Just outside of the city," she answered.

"Very good." The wizard then pulled out his wand and waved it up at the section of ceiling above their table. The stars swirled and moved around quickly, rearranging and forming different sets of constellations. Hermione gasped quietly. The wizard looked back down at her and smiled. "The sky where you live, no?"

"Yes. It's wonderful."

"We do what we can," he said, smiling kindly at her. "This way you can have a bit of your home while still having your vacation." He nodded at her and Harry. "Your waiter will be with you momentarily."

"Thank you," she said as he walked away. "This place is amazing."

"Definitely one of the coolest restaurants I've ever been inside," he agreed.

Within a few minutes, the Morgans, Nathan and Cynthia, arrived. Harry and Hermione stood up to greet them.

"Good evening," Nathan Morgan said, extending his hand to Harry. Nathan Morgan was a tall man with broad shoulders and thick chest. His hair was completely white, but his eyes were still quick and bright. His mouth was a thin wide line that smiled easily to reveal straight teeth. Harry noted his handshake was firm.

"Evening, Mr. Morgan. I'm Jonathan Parker and this is my wife Julianna."

Nathan smiled at Hermione. "Pleased to meet you Mrs. Parker. That is a lovely dress you're wearing."

"It surely is. You look beautiful, dear," his wife added.

"Oh, thank you. Jonathan bought it for me," she blushed, "and you can call me Julianna," she said sweetly.

"This is my wife Cynthia."

After their initial hellos the group sat down at the table, and when the waiter arrived, Nathan ordered a bottle of Wizards Chianti and they settled into easy conversation.

"Your husband tells you're the cleverest witch I'll ever meet," Cynthia began, and Hermione immediately looked at Harry and blushed, "so what do you do with your cleverness?"

"Well, my husband and I own and bookshop. We sell books, of course, and different brands of quills, ink...those sorts of things," Hermione answered.

"She's a real wiz," Harry added happily. "She's always coming up with new product ideas to sell. Right now she's creating this new type of quill. It's a bit like the Quick Notes Quill, but without all the deception. It's much better than that green menace of a quill."

"Really?" Nathan said, his eyebrows rising in interest. "You are somewhat of an inventor then?"

"Oh, yes," Harry answered for her, "she's the brains behind our business for sure. Her ideas are spot on. She's released some prototypes already of some of her creations. There is a bookmark that remembers how long it's been in same spot--for example, if you've stopped reading the book for too long, the bookmark remembers, and the next time you open the book, it catches you up on what's already happened. That way you don't have to reread the book. Or the artist's quill. That's a brilliant one. It's a quill designed for one specific person. It's like choosing a wand, I suppose you could say. It's going to be a great help in the world of law enforcement. The owner merely has to describe something in their own words and the quill can sketch it out perfectly. It sounds confusing probably, but it's amazing. It's like it can see into your mind and recall pictures from your memory. I remember the first time she showed it to me--"

"--Jonathan," Hermione said, catching Harry's eye and giving him "the look". Harry was playing the part very well, but the trouble was, he was being too honest. Hermione actually had been working on such inventions, and while she was hesitant to believe they were amazing, she didn't want Harry talking about too much.

"I'm sorry. I apologize," he said, looking at Hermione and then at the Morgans. "I got carried away. I'm just really proud of her abilities."

Cynthia reached across the table and touched Hermione's hand. "Don't be modest, dear. It's obvious that Jonathan believes in your ideas and to be perfectly honest, Nathan here is a bit of an inventor as well. I'm sure he'd love to hear about your ideas."

"Oh, well...I..." she stuttered, thankful she didn't have to finish because the waiter arrived with the bottle of wine.

The four lifted their glasses and toasted to new ideas and new friendships. By the end of the meal, Hermione felt confident that she and Harry were making friends with the Morgans and if things kept going as smoothly, she knew she'd get the information she needed.

She finished her glass of wine, and her mind and body felt warm and content. Nathan was beginning to tell a story about a book he tried to charm once when they were interrupted by a tall lithe woman with long chestnut hair. Hermione recognized her immediately. She was the woman she and Harry had ridden the lift with earlier in the day.

"Nathan. Cynthia. How are you both doing?" the woman asked; her voice was saccharine and rang of falsity.

"Oh, Victoria, how good to see you," Cynthia said as Victoria kissed her cheek. Hermione watched the women closely and it was all too evident that their kind words were not rooted in sincerity.

"Evening, Victoria," Nathan said. "These are our friends Jonathan and Julianna Parker."

"Oh?" Victoria said, turning her attention to Harry. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You look so familiar. Have we met before?" she purred as she leaned over near his ear.

"We saw you on the lift this morning," Hermione said flatly.

Victoria looked up at Hermione and smiled sweetly. "Oh, that's right. The pool was wonderful, wasn't it?" Victoria asked, but it was obvious she was talking only to Harry.

"Yeah," Harry said, shifting uncomfortably. Without thinking, he reached out and placed his hand on Hermione's. "It was beautiful, wasn't it, Juli?"

Hermione, playing along, leaned over and kissed his cheek. "It was. This vacation for us was a wonderful idea."

Victoria, feeling neglected, lifted her hand from Harry's shoulder and stepped back. "Well, I'm meeting Victor for dinner. So, good to see you both," she replied, looking at Nathan and Cynthia. "Jonathan and Judy, was it? Good to meet you. I'm sure we'll see you tomorrow night for cards, right?" she asked, looking at Nathan.

"Of course," Nathan said, forcing a smile as Victoria walked away.

"Merlin, that woman is a snake," Cynthia mumbled.

"Now, dear. Let's not be unkind."

"You're right. Pardon me," Cynthia said, glancing at Harry and Hermione. "She's married to a business associate of my husband's. Otherwise, I'd feel free to tell you that I think she's a snake--"

"--Cynthia," Nathan said sternly.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "Really, it's okay. Some people are very hard to like...especially when nothing they say is genuine," Hermione said boldly.

"Exactly," Cynthia agreed. "I can see that you and I will get along fabulously. I always like an honest woman. You should join us for cards tomorrow night. It's a game Nathan created. Lots of loud fun and laughter. Of course we play with the Sevilles--"

"--the Sevilles?" Hermione asked, but she already knew who they were.

"Oh, yes. Business acquaintances of my husbands. It's Damien Seville, his wife and his two children and their spouses. You've just met Victoria. She's married to Damien's oldest son, Victor."

"Victor is married to Victoria?" Harry asked, laughing quietly.

"Yes," Cynthia said, laughing too. "I always said that his brain only had enough room for so much information so he needed to marry a woman with practically the same name so he could remember--"

"--Cynthia," Nathan scolded again and she laughed.

"Oh, Nathan. It's funny. You know it is," she replied and he smiled at her as she patted his hand.

"We'd love to play cards tomorrow night," Hermione said, smiling at Harry and then at the Morgans.

"Great!" Cynthia said. "We should start around seven tomorrow night. And we play in the Sorcerer's Lounge on the seventh floor."

The conversation continued for a few more minutes before they said goodnight and headed back to their rooms. Once Harry and Hermione were on the lift together and they were alone, she chatted excitedly about the following night. She just knew she was going to have success with finding the information she needed.

When they were settling into bed, Hermione crawled in on the left side and switched on the bedside lamp. She had full intentions of reading for a little while before going to sleep, but her eyes were already too heavy.

"Goodness. The wine must have gotten to me. I feel exhausted," she said, closing her book and turning off the lamp.

"It's been a long day." Harry turned off the lights in the room, and Hermione felt him slide under the sheets on the right side of the bed. "You really did look beautiful tonight," Harry said quietly and he felt Hermione turn over in the darkness and face him. He thought he heard her smile.

"Thanks handsome," she said and her voice was sleepy and playful. "Goodnight Harry."

"Night," he answered.

A few minutes of silence passed by and Harry was almost sure she was sleeping, but she surprised him when she spoke up again.

"Do you really think my ideas are brilliant?" she asked.

"Absolutely. But you should know that. I told you when you showed them all to me."

"I know, but I thought perhaps you were just being nice. You know, the supportive friend bit."

"I was being honest."

A few seconds of silenced slipped by. "Well, thank you. It means a lot to me," she said quietly.
"You're welcome," he answered as Hermione rolled over. He lay for a long time in the darkness, unable to fall asleep and unable to stop thinking about Hermione. It felt odd to think of her the way his mind wanted to, and yet, it felt completely right. When she shifted in the dark and slid closer to him, he couldn't help but lean into her body and settle in close to her warmth. He tried to tell himself over and over again that everything around him was only pretend, but he wasn't so sure.