RP: Working on Social Skills

[shh_hermione]

Date: November 30, 2004
Characters: Hermione, Cormac, Anyone else
Location: Socks
Status: Public
Summary: Hermione has lunch and works on her social skills
Completion: Complete

Comments

[shh_cormac]

Cormac wasn't very fond of Socks, truth be told. He'd always found House Elves to be a bit...demented. However, the former Hogwart's Elves were not in the same category as the Elves of his childhood, and they really made the best roast beef sandwiches, which sounded really good, so he decided to brave the restuarant for once.

Socks was only about half full, and there were plenty of empty tables, but Cormac had never liked eating alone. It gave him too much time to think, and after his aborted owl attepmt the night before, he'd rather not think if he could help it.

He looked around, wondering if anyone he was friendly with (namely Colin, Romilda or Millicent) were there. He didn't spot them right off, but did notice a rather familiar witch toward the back. It was Hermione Granger, his date to Slughorn's Christmas party 7th year, and though that night hadn't ended well (for him), he wondered if she'd mind some company for lunch.

He headed toward her, wondering what the best way to invite himself to join her would be. Best to let her ask, as just sitting down would probably seem rude. "Hermione?" he said once he was in hearing range. "Hi, there."

[shh_hermione]

It was really odd how Muggle bookstores sold so many things that weren't actually books. She had a list of items she'd noted in the last store and several of them just didn't make a lot of sense to her. She frowned at the paper and wondered how sweets went with reading, unless they were attempting to capitalize on the idea that people had to snack while eating, which made little sense to her.

The sound of approaching footsteps distracted her from her analysis. She unconsciously tightened her grip on her wand, glad that her back was at least to the wall, and glanced up from beneath lowered lashes when she heard her name. McLaggen. Well, he certainly seemed to be all over the place these days.

She looked up and tilted her head to study him, taking note of the circles beneath his eyes, the slight slouch to his shoulders, and the hesitant look on his face. Hmm. Interesting. She nodded once and smiled slightly. "Hello, Cormac."

[shh_cormac]

Corma grinned. Good, she'd remembered him. That made things easier. "It's good to see you out and about," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to say hello at the Gryffindor reunion the other night." Mostly because he'd sensed he wasn't wanted, and as soon as he'd finished his meal, had quietly disappeared. "There were so many people around," he said in explanation.

He shifted uneasily, feeling a bit awkward standing by her table. "So, um, how've you been?" he asked, wondering what was proper conversation with a girl he hadn't seen in eight years, and at their last encounter had suffered a rather nasty hex for a simple kiss.

[shh_hermione]

"There's no need for an apology. I didn't stay very long, anyway. I might have left by the time you arrived, in fact," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm not particularly fond of crowds, and, as you said, there were a lot of people around."

She watched him shift awkwardly and nodded towards one of the empty chairs. "Sit, if you'd like. The chair's empty and your nervous fidgeting is distracting from our attempt at polite conversation," she said with just a faint hint of amusement.

"I'm still alive, so I suppose that means I've been good." She arched a brow. "And how have you been?"

[shh_cormac]

Cormac sat with relief. He'd thought for a moment there she'd tell him to go away.

"Oh, I've been okay, I suppose," he said, picking up a menu, though he already knew what he wanted, and wouldn't have attempted to make sense of the writing with someone else there anyway.

"I'm an Auror, actually, and just started working with Alastor Moody." He didn't get into the whole Chicken Geese Animagi debacle, or the fact that his work with Moody was re-training. Not exactly the impression he wanted to make on an old friend.

"Have you been here before?" he asked. "The House Elves make a really good roast beef sandwich."

[shh_hermione]

"An Auror is a very credible profession. It also takes a lot of hard work and knowledge to reach that title so congratulations. You'll learn a lot from Moody," she said simply. "Pay attention and observe is the advice I'd give for working with him. A lot of the lessons you'll want to learn will be from what he doesn't say."

"Just once, and I only had a salad." She didn't explain about not having much money at the time and not being aware of the trade policy in effect at the pub. "Roast beef sandwich? That actually sounds quite good. I might try it."

She leaned back and studied him closely. "Now, why do you just suppose you've been okay?" she asked. "How long have you been in town? What sort of work are Aurors doing now?"

[shh_cormac]

Cormac fiddled with the silverware, before realizing what he was doing and consciously stopping his hands. The thought of having to pay attention gave him the chills, as he was very aware he was somewhat lacking in that department. He chose to ignore that portion of the conversation, and instead answered her other questions.

"I've been in town for just a couple of months. I was on the road a lot, searching for Death Eaters and the like," he began. "And now it's mostly making sure people have places to sleep, food to eat, and the like. And there's been the recent break-ins at Rosemerta's, and Hestia Jones' shop, so we've been trying to find the cuprits there." He sighed, thinking about the lack of progress they'd made so far in that direction. "Unfortunately, the vandals havent' left much in the way of clues, and our only decent lead was just a misunderstanding."

An Elf came then, and Cormac ordered his roast beef sandwich, and a Butterbeer, and waited for Hermione to order her meal.

[shh_hermione]

She observed him as she would any puzzle she'd not yet solved. She took note of his actions, of the way he fidgeted and acted, and began to work up possible theories and analysis. It was one of the best parts of meeting someone new, to her, and she enjoyed solving puzzles of behavior.

"Two break-ins? I'd honestly have expected more," she said. "Following a war and especially in circumstances such as these, it's so open for negative energy and criminals to take advantage. People are lax, too, and seem to think that the end of the war means that things are safe and calm. Danger always exists, whether in peace or war, and there's more risk if people don't at least remain alert and reasonably cautious."

"I'm sure you'll find them. Everyone makes mistakes, after all. It's just having the patience to wait and being ready to catch it when they do." She smiled. "Observation and thought are key in such cases."

When the elf approached, she ordered a roast beef sandwich and chips before turning her focus back to Cormac.

[shh_cormac]

Cormac smiled. This was the most clear he'd ever heard anyone analyze the end of the war. Robards and Moody both talked about vigilance, and being on guard, but had never come out and stated the problem the way Hermione had just done.

"We've been workign hard to keep everyone safe, and I think most people in the area understand the need to keep their guard up, but it doesn't hurt to have a little extra protection," he said. "But patience has never been my strong suit."

"So, have you made any plans since you've been back?"

[shh_hermione]

"Protection only helps so far as people can also protect themselves," she said thoughtfully. "You can have three dozen Aurors on guard but if one person feels they're above the need or 'safe', then there's the possibility of danger. People also need to accept responsibility for themselves whenever possible. It's not always possible, of course, which is where Aurors come in, but there are situations that can be prevented if people are educated on the risks and aware of all information necessary to live their lives."

She shrugged. "At least, that's my general opinion on the matter," she said. "If I were out walking alone at night, I feel that it would be up to me, first and foremost, to be aware of my surroundings, to be alert for possible danger, and to be cautious. However, I'm rather paranoid and all too well aware of what lurks in dark shadows."

He continued to fiddle with things and move around, seemingly unable to sit still or stop moving. She frowned slightly and bit her lip in thought. Finally, she had finished her analysis of several behaviors that went all too well together if her hypothesis was accurate.

"Cormac, do you often find yourself unable to sit still or concentrate?" she asked, ignoring his question for now. She'd answer after she determined if she was right or totally off-base. "You've mentioned a lack of patience, but is that due to just being impatient or more from a need to be doing instead of sitting calmly and waiting?"

[shh_cormac]

"It also doesn't help that many of the Aurors have chosen not to come back, I think. Or are taking extended vacations, which, personally, sounds boring. I like work," he said simply. "And I hope I'm being helpful."

Cormac blinked, realizing that he'd been jiggling his leg and twirling a fork while she'd been talking, and she'd obviously noticed. "Sorry," he said, placing his hands in his lap. "And to answer your question, yeah. I just like to do things. But I know it's annoying."

He had to wonder though, why she'd brought it up. It wasn't exactly polite conversations, but maybe he was annoying her, and she wanted him to stop. Well, he'd do his best, and luckily, the food would be here soon.

[shh_hermione]

"I'm sure some will come back once things are settled," she said confidently. "Often times, after a war, the soldiers need a rest before returning to duty, so to speak. If not, there will be others who wish to train."

"No, don't apologize. There's no need." She shrugged. "Many people find basic conversation with me annoying, so there's certainly no need to make apologies for who we are, you know?"

She bit her lip again and wished she had more information in her head regarding her suspicions. Finally, she just asked, "Has anyone ever done any testing on you to see if you might have ADHD? That is, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder."

"It's a condition resulting in symptoms of inability to maintain attention, impulsive behaviors and/or motor restlessness." She smiled sheepishly. "Yes, that is probably a near word for word textbook definition. But, really, it's something diagnoses in the Muggle world, often times in children, though it's also diagnosed in adults. You just remind me of our neighbor's daughter, and she was diagnosed while I was at Hogwarts, so I had to ask if you were familiar with it at all."

[shh_cormac]

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? Was that was he had? It would be nice to put a name to his restlessness, but purebloods weren't supposed to have diseases. At least that's what Mother had always told him during her more lucid moments.

"I've never heard of it. Stuff like that wasn't talked about in my family," he said. "So, there's a name for something like this? It's a common disease, then? I've never heard of other wizards being afflicted with something like this."

[shh_hermione]

"It's not a disease," she said. "It's a disorder, which isn't really the same thing. From what little I remember, which I'm afraid isn't a lot, it's a chemical imbalance of some sort. It's not something that can be healed, for instance, but it can be treated and helped."

Hermione wished she'd done more reading on the topic but, when she'd learned of the neighbor, she'd just read the basics to understand and hadn't felt a need to do further research. "I think Muggles use medication, uh potions, to help the imbalance, and there might be alternatives or other ways to help, too."

"It is fairly common and not considered negative or shameful by any means," she said firmly, before he dared consider it something to be ashamed of. "You could probably find a checklist to confirm since I just remember a little bit and might be wrong. If it is ADHD, I could look into a safe and harmless potion alternative for you, if you'd like." Well, she wouldn't but she knew someone who would definitely have the knowledge of potions to help Cormac, even if it was done secretly.