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A Witch's Tale	By : snowblind12 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 27756 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: This fanfic is based off the Harry Potter books which are owned by JKR. I make no money from this fanfic and these characters as well as the Harry Potter books and world belong to JKR!

Chapter List
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Sorry for the delay. Hope you like this chapter. Thanks for your reviews!
Monday Night cont...
Unable to sleep, Draco laid in bed staring out at the view of the skyline. He had never given his promiscuous ways a second thought. That is, until now. He didn't want a girlfriend and he certainly didn't want a wife. His life was fine the way it was. But, a small flicker of doubt was pulsing in his brain and despite his efforts, he couldn't make it stop. As much as he claimed he liked his freedom, there was a small part of him that wished for something else...something more. You would have settled down for a witch like Hermione. He quickly ejected that thought from his mind.
He sighed and once again started thinking about what Granger had said earlier. What if she was right? What if he had already met the witch who could make a difference in his life? What if he had used her and tossed her aside? Or, what if she was one of the few that had resisted his charms. He never gave those witches a second glance either.
He rolled onto his back. His mind started running through the faces and the names (if he could remember their names) of the witches he had slept with over the past year or so. He began counting witches like he was counting sheep. When he got to 23 he fell asleep.
Wednesday Evening
Hermione dashed into her apartment and headed for the shower. She was due at Draco's in less than 15 minutes. How the afternoon had gotten away from her like it had, she'll never know. It felt like they had just started the testing and all of a sudden it was 5:30pm. Pedro, Tiko and Lexie had tried to persuade her to head on home and they would get the equipment back to the factory floor, but Hermione insisted on staying and helping. So, now it was 6:15 and she was going to be late.
After showering, she put on a green sundress and flip flops. She grabbed the avocado spread, salsa and chips she had prepared the night before and dashed out of her flat. Upon knocking on Draco's door, Luna opened it and gave Hermione a huge smile. Hermione beamed back at her dear friend. "Hi Luna," she said as she rushed into the flat. She noticed Draco and Severus sitting outside on the patio by the pool. "I'm so sorry I'm late," she said to Luna as she headed out to the patio.
"I'm so sorry I'm late," she said a second time as she walked onto the patio. Severus stood to greet her with a polite dip of his head and a quiet hello. Draco's eyes went right to the platter she was carrying. "What'd you bring?"
"Just some stuff to nibble on," she replied. Draco gave a look of disgust at the guacamole and grabbed some chips as he waved his wand causing a glass of wine to float towards Hermione. "Thanks," she said to Draco before taking a big swallow and leaning back in her chair. She glanced around at his patio getting a better look than last time. It was really beautiful. He had black wrought iron furniture with deep green cushions. There was a fire pit off to the side with brick wall seating surrounding it. The area they were sitting in was covered by a huge canopy blocking out the hot, Texas sun which was still shining and pumping out heat at 6:30pm. All of this was next to a huge infinity swimming pool overlooking the skyline. Lexie had clearly been behind it as there were beautiful trees and huge blooming plants strategically placed all around, giving the feel of a tropical paradise. He must have cast a cooling charm because it was very comfortable despite the intense heat. Her focus went back to Draco when he started to speak.
"So, I thought we could meet every couple of weeks and fill each other in on any progress we've made," Draco said as looked around at everybody. As Hermione looked at him, she thought he looked really handsome tonight. He had on a white linen button down shirt with khaki shorts. His skin was looking bronzer than when she had seen him this morning leading her to believe he had spent time outside today. She noticed Luna had a touch of color as well. Perhaps Luna and Draco had spent the afternoon together outside? Luna was sitting next to him on the loveseat and Severus and Hermione were in chairs. Hermione couldn't help but notice how good Draco and Luna looked sitting together. They shared the same white blond hair, only where his eyes were grey, hers were blue.
Luna was looking at the pool and then started focusing on the various trees he had in large planters scattered around the patio. She suddenly stood and dashed over to one of the trees. "Draco, this tree is infested with figglestorks." She had a very concerned look on her face. She waved her wand over the tree and started to move it up and down the trunk. She let out a heavy sigh and then walked around, inspecting all the other trees. Hermione noticed Severus roll his eyes in typical Professor Snape fashion as he watched Luna dash around from tree to tree. Draco had a concerned look on his face as he whispered to Hermione, "Tell me again why I hired her?"
Luna made her way back over to the loveseat and after sitting began to look at Draco with a very concerned look on her face.
"What?" He asked.
She continued to watch him, like he was a specimen for study that was about to do something very interesting. She leaned toward him and spoke quietly. "Have you been experiencing moments of self doubt? Insecurity? Have you...been feeling not quite as confident? ...perhaps feeling the need to question yourself more than usual?"
Draco's eyes were wide for a minute and then his face became the picture of cool. "No, of course not." He replied, trying to disguise how much of what she had just said rang true.
Her look became slightly confused and then it became one of doubt. Hermione had to keep herself from laughing. Luna clearly didn't believe Draco.
Hermione helped Draco out and steered the conversation away from his serious figglestork problem. "Well, I can start." The others turned their attention from Luna to Hermione. "We've finally started testing the Magometers. However, we've only tested in one spot...here in magical Dallas. We have a huge task before us, but it feels good to finally start gathering data. We've also got a request into the US Magical Census Bureau for US trends of declining magic. We're hoping their information will be sent to us soon."
"So is the apron working?" Draco asked Hermione.
Hermione smiled at him. "Yes, it's working perfectly." The engineers at Poppinstock had made Hermione a magic blocking apron to wear while using the magometers. It prevented her magic from interfering with the magometer readings. When Tiko had heard about her predicament it occurred to him he could make an apron out of the same material as the tarps they used on the factory floor which kept the magic in the building from impacting the calibrations they performed daily. Today was the first day she had used it and it worked beautifully.
Severus was watching and listening to Hermione with great interest. When she finished speaking, he stated. "Draco, filled me in your theory. Would you mind if I looked over your notes from the UK and what you've put together so far here in Dallas?"
Hermione smiled brightly, thrilled her old professor was interested in her work. "I would really appreciate your input, Severus. Absolutely!" Hermione took a longer look at Severus. He still wore his long hair pulled back. He was wearing a grey button down with blue jeans. Hermione had never seen him in anything other than black. He looked great. His skin had more color than when she had seen him last. She wondered if he was dating anyone. He was quite a catch in her opinion. An idea started to brew in the back of her mind. She would have to talk to Harry.
Severus began to fill the others in on what he had been working on. "I've been testing the properties of various herbs, flowers and foliage from areas all over Mexico and South America. I've discovered a blooming plant in Brazil which is proving to be a possible game changer. It has blooms that when dried, crushed into powder and then brewed with a few other common ingredients, cause the drinker to have increased magical power. I've only tested it on myself so far, but I was quite taken with the results. I've had several local witches and wizards volunteer to test it out and as soon as I'm sure it's safe, I'll begin testing it on others."
"That's amazing, Severus!" Hermione interjected, a tone of awe in her voice.
"Well, it's very early to get excited yet..but it's a start. Once I determine it's safe to use, I'll see about testing it on pregnant witches. I need to be sure it harbors no ill effects..especially to an unborn fetus."
Draco perked up at this announcement. "How much did it improve your magic, Severus?" Draco's voice was laced with excitement.
Severus thought for a moment before speaking. "I performed several basic spells before ingesting the potion and then performed those same spells thirty minutes after ingesting the potion. Suffice it to say, my spells packed a much bigger punch."
"How long did it last?" Asked Luna.
Draco looked from Luna to Severus. "Yeah, how long did it last?"
Severus had a small grin on his face. "The biggest impact seems to last between 36 and 42 hours. But, the interesting and really encouraging piece is...I still have residual effects. I would say my magic is still about 20% stronger than it was before ingesting the powder...and the last time I ingested it was over four days ago."
There was stunned silence as Draco, Hermione and Luna processed what Severus had just said. "Merlin's hairy balls," Draco said under his breath. He then got a huge smile on his face as the possibilities began whirling through his brain. He was going to make a fortune! Pureblood children who were demonstrating diminished magic ability might be able to take this. Hell, everyone wishes they had stronger magic. This could be sold to adults as well! The potential marketing of this was endless!
Severus could read Draco like a book. "Don't get too excited, Draco. I have a lot more testing to do. Also, the plant is rare, I was only able to find a few of them in the entire rainforest." He sighed. "Granted, there might be much more out there, but I'm only one wizard and I could only cover so many square miles of searching." He took a sip of his wine. "Also, the plant blooms at night and the blooms have to be picked at just the right time. I'm afraid I wasted several blooms by picking them before they had bloomed fully or when they had started to close."
"Can we grow our own? In a greenhouse perhaps?" Hermione asked, still dumbfounded by Severus's incredible discovery.
Severus shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't had a chance to try."
"Perhaps you should consult Neville Longbottom, Professor." Luna suggested, her voice light and airy.
Hermione could actually see Severus forcefully swallow the retort that would have been his natural response as he cocked his eyebrow and gave her a signature Professor Snape stare.
Luna seemed to be either oblivious or unconcerned about his response to her suggestion. She said dreamily and softly, almost as if she wasn't speaking to anyone else, "He's quite the herbologist."
Draco interjected, looking from Luna to Severus. "I'll see about getting you some extra hands to help."
Severus turned his attention from Luna to Draco. "That would be...most appreciated."
Luna smiled at the three of them as she said. "Well, that just leaves me." She turned towards Severus and said, "I'm actually heading to Peru next in search of the snorklerook." She sighed heavily. "I've come very close to catching one, but being invisible, they are very hard to sneak up on," she said, with a touch of frustration.
"So, how do you go about finding them?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
Luna slowly drew her gaze to her Hermione. She spoke slowly and quietly. "Well, it's not easy. I've randomly come across them in the past. But, now that I'm eagerly seeking them out, I thought I would go to areas where magometers have registered high levels of magic. If what's said about them is true, they should be moving from areas with high natural magic levels to areas with low levels."
Hermione's look became confused. "So, why Peru? We aren't testing the magometers there."
"The Peruvian government has been using magometers the past couple years and they have made their findings public."
Hermione was gobsmacked. Her jaw fell open. "How do you know that?"
Luna shrugged. "The Quibbler has posted many articles about it." Her tone was still soft but she had a touch of pride in her statement.
Hermione couldn't believe it...wouldn't believe it until she saw the Peruvian reports herself. "How did I not know that?" She asked more to herself than to anyone.
Draco smirked at her. "Yeah, Granger. How did you not know that?"
Hermione tried to not let on how completely taken aback she was that Luna knew this important bit of information and here she was...completely unaware. She scolded herself. This is unacceptable, Hermione! She would have Jonny start researching other countries usage of magometers. That information could be very helpful. She was curious to know what kind of magometers they used as well. Not all of them out there were as good as Poppinstock's... actually, none were.
Draco waved his wand, refilling everyone's wine glasses. With the end of work related discussions, the conversation moved to travel and sights seen as well as experiences had. As the evening progressed, and more wine was consumed, the conversation became easier. Severus became much more talkative as he drank, happily telling of his adventures over the past several years. He even became more tolerant of Luna, engaging her in more conversation.
Hermione's respect for Luna continued to grow as the evening progressed. She may be odd in some ways, but underneath she really was very intuitive and smart...and quite beautiful. She had almost an ethereal quality. Hermione noticed Draco kept his eyes on Luna most the evening. It became more and more obvious that Draco was interested in Luna as more than just an employee. She thought she saw interest on Luna's part as well, but with Luna it's very hard to tell what she's thinking.
Hermione considered the wizard to her right. She would like to see Severus Snape happy as well. She did not know him very well, but in all his story telling and stories of travel and South America, there was no mention of any companions...male or female. He had changed since the end of the war...soo much. He was much more pleasant and patient. He laughed now, he wore clothes other than black, he was enjoying his freedom and his adventures and he was on the verge of a great discovery. Things were going his way. She couldn't imagine that he didn't have witches pursuing him. He may not be traditionally handsome, but he was striking..he had a presence about him and it made him attractive, at least in Hermione's eyes. He was famous in Great Britain and was certainly pursued by many witches over there after his role in the war became common knowledge. Suddenly a thought hit her. An idea...she would have to talk to Harry.
It was starting to get late and Hermione was starting to get tired. Draco looked at her knowingly and then in his sneering voice, the voice that reminded her of Draco from Hogwarts, "Don't be such a bore, Hermione. It's only 10pm and you aren't working tomorrow. Lexie has done nothing but talk about how she's taking you shopping tomorrow for your birthday."
Hermione rolled her eyes. She really did just wish her birthday would simply pass her by. She had no wish to make a thing of it, and would frankly have prefered to be testing the magometers tomorrow over going shopping. But, it would hurt Lexie's feelings, and Hermione wouldn't do that for anything. Hermione looked at Draco, about to make a smart retort, when Draco's and Luna's eyes were drawn to something behind her. She turned her head and practically fell out of her chair, when she noticed her Theo walking onto the terrace with a huge smile on his face. She jumped out of the chair and practically flew into his waiting arms.
"Surprise," he said as he kissed her head. She beamed up at him. He looked down at her with his devilish grin and twinkle in his eye that she had missed terribly. He leaned and whispered into her ear, seductively, "Mmm, kitten. You look good enough to eat."
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A Witch's Tale