Coffee and Commitments - 2/5 - All Ages - Adrian/Hermione
Title: Coffee and Commitments (2/5)
Author: silvernatasha
Rating: All Ages
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: When people and relationships are changing around you, at least the coffee stays the same. Adrian/Hermione.
Word Count: 1694.
“I’m just going to get another drink,” Adrian told Theo, looking at his empty glass. Merlin, this was so boring. There was only so much of Blaise showing off his fiancée and the impossibly expensive ring she had finally put on her finger that he could take.
He wasn’t into bling, anyway.
Manoeuvring his way through the crowd, he nearly dropped his glass in surprise when Blaise suddenly grabbed him by the elbow, pulling him bodily over to him. “Here, Pucey. Come and keep this lovely young lady company, will you?” It took Adrian a couple of seconds to register exactly who Blaise was talking about: Hermione Granger.
His eyes widened in horror as Blaise patted him on the arm, smirking in his usual way. “Make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble.” Blaise winked at him, and then strode off, presumably to see Ginny.
Adrian looked at Hermione, trying to decide what to say to her. Finally, he decided on, “Evening, Granger.”
“Pucey.” She inclined her head in greeting, not looking particularly impressed. It was a little annoying, actually, considering how long he’d put into getting ready - at this sort of event there were always wizards and witches with whom it would be good to ‘network’, so he was trying to make a good impression. Granger didn’t look the slightest bit awed.
“Did you want a drink?” he asked, feeling that it was the polite thing to do.
Hermione held up her glass; it was nearly full. “I don’t really need one, thanks. Not unless you’re trying to get me drunk.”
She shifted a little uncomfortably under his gaze, wishing that his eyes weren’t quite so blue. They were a little disconcerting, but mainly they were mesmerising. For a moment, her gaze locked with his and she choked back a gasp. Was the colour entirely natural? She’d heard of potions that could change the colour of your eyes, but never known anyone to actually use them. He looked vain enough, but if his eyes were naturally that colour then he’d have good reason to be vain.
After more consideration, the rest of his face wasn’t bad, either. Hermione tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I’m sure you’ll do that all by yourself.”
Hermione gaped indignantly at him. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean, Pucey?”
“Don’t look so offended, pet. Just saw you the other night in the club. You were definitely knocking the drinks back. Don’t think I saw you without a drink in your hand all night.”
Hermione rolled her eyes, sipping her drink and reminding Adrian that he as actually quite thirsty. “It was a hen party. I just got a bit caught up in things.”
“I dunno. You were looking very caught up in things when you were dancing around that pole.” As soon as he said this, Adrian regretted it. That sort of comment was as crass as those shirts that the Weasley twins wearing, which declared, She’s finally an honest woman. Sort of.
Hermione grimaced. Although she didn’t really remember the pole-dancing incident all that well, she had seen pictures. To say that they didn’t show her best side was something of an understatement. “Thanks. I was trying to forget that.”
“Sorry.”
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise at his apology. “Oh. Um. That’s alright.” Hermione sighed. “You don’t have to stay here just because Blaise told you to. Would’ve thought that you had a bit more of a backbone than that.”
Adrian knew exactly what she meant. Why was he still standing here talking to her? There were plenty of other people for either of them to talk to, and Blaise was too caught up in kissing away his fiancée’s lipstick to care about what they were doing.
“In that case,” Adrian said with a grin, “I’m going to go and get myself a drink. See you around, pet.”
Ron sighed, passing Hermione another drink. She wasn’t sure whether it was her third or fourth glass of champagne, but decided it didn’t really matter. It was Friday night and she wasn’t paying. “What’s the world coming to?”
Hermione raised her eyebrows at Ron’s question. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I dunno. Ginny’s marrying Zabini, you’re flirting with Pucey and Parkinson just asked me out for a drink. Next thing we know, Harry’ll be shacking up with Nott or something.”
Hermione nearly choked on her champagne. “I was not flirting with Pucey.” She paused. “And Harry doesn’t swing that way.”
Ron pulled a face. “Oh, you were flirting with him. You did your pushing your hair back thing. You always do that when you’re flirting.”
“I do not!” Hermione gaped at him. Honestly. How he even suggest that she would flirt with Adrian? Pucey. Whatever.
“You do. Trust me. I remember from personal experience.” Ron sipped his drink, reaching for a strawberry from the large bowl on the table. “So. Did he ask you out?”
She made an indignant sound. “No. And I’m not expecting him to.” Hermione looked at Ron curiously, narrowing her eyes. “Did you say ‘yes’ to Parkinson?”
Ron shifted uncomfortably, snagging another strawberry from the bowl. “Well, you know, she had the cleavage and the eyes and the…” He swallowed. “Yeah. We’re going out tomorrow night.” Seeing the blush rise up on his cheeks, Hermione stifled a giggle.
Clearing his throat, Ron took a gulp of champagne. “So what’s going on with you and Pucey, then?”
Hermione nearly rolled her eyes at Ron’s transparent attempt to change the subject. “There’s nothing going on. Blaise just shoved the two of us together just now.” Turning her head, she looked over at Adrian. By the way he seemed to be very interested in his shoes, Hermione was fairly certain that he had been staring at her. This made her feel a little uneasy, although not in the same way as it had before.
“And do you want anything to happen?” Hermione frowned at Ron’s question. “You haven’t had a boyfriend in months.”
She huffed in annoyance. “Why do people assume that I need a boyfriend? I’m perfectly happy by myself. I don’t need anyone.”
Ron chewed thoughtfully on a strawberry. “No,” he corrected himself, “it must be nearly a year since your last bloke. What was his name? Rupert?”
“Roger.” Hermione gave a weary sigh. “Adrian isn’t my type, anyway.”
“Since when has he been ‘Adrian’ and not ‘Pucey’?” Ron raised his eyebrows, taking yet another strawberry. He looked critically over at Adrian. “Anyway, I’m straight and I think he’s my type.”
Hermione hit him on the arm. “Ron!”
“What?” Ron’s face flushed, but he grinned at her. “Come on, you have to admit he’s not bad looking. Chiselled jaw, nice mouth, and those eyes… do you think they’re natural?”
A petite witch appeared beside Ron, looking rather bemused. “Are you still sure that you want to go out tomorrow? Or would you rather cancel and ask Ade out instead?”
“Ade?”
“Adrian.” Pansy frowned. “You know he’s my cousin, right?” She wrinkled her nose, taking a strawberry from Ron’s fingers. “I don’t think he likes redheads, anyway.”
“Uh. No. I think I’d rather take you out instead.”
“Do you drink anything that isn’t coffee or champagne?”
Hermione wasn’t a big fan of Monday mornings. Coffee tended to make the morning a little brighter, but hearing Adrian Pucey’s voice just made her feel a bit funny. And not in the normal way.
“Apparently, I’ve been known to do the odd tequila shot. Funnily enough, I don’t really remember doing them, though.”
Adrian grinned. “Can I take this seat, pet? All the other tables are full.”
Hermione nodded, sipping her coffee. “Yeah. Go ahead.” She folded up her newspaper, deciding to try and make a bit of conversation. “Um, how are you this morning?”
“I got into work this morning to find that not only is one of the secretaries ill, but that I have a huge pile of paperwork on my desk. I’m slowly slogging through it, but,” he held up his cup, “I needed a bit of a caffeine refill.”
“I can understand that feeling,” Hermione agreed. She paused, biting her lip; she wasn’t normally a gossip, but this subject just begged to be talked about. “Did you hear what’s happened with Ron and Pansy?”
Adrian gave a snort of laughter. “I haven’t spoken to her personally, but are they really moving in together?”
“Apparently.” Hermione rolled her eyes, barely believing it herself. “They only had their first date a week ago. It’s ridiculous if you ask me.”
“They’re both crazy.” Adrian peered into his coffee, then sipped it a little hesitantly. “Only goes to prove that they’re perfect for each other.”
“I suppose.”
“I heard that it was Pansy who started everything. Personally, I think it’s that whole biological clock ticking away thing and Weasley’s a safe bet.”
Hermione shook her head in disbelief. “Oh, please. She’s twenty-four, the same age as me. She’s got plenty of time to have children.” After a sip of coffee, she continued, “Anyway, Ron is anything but a safe bet. He’s volatile, hot-headed, prone to mood swings and jealousy…” Hermione wrinkled her nose. “I think I just listed all the reasons why my relationship with Ron didn’t work.”
“I think you also just described Pansy perfectly. She’s hardly the most stable witch I’ve ever met.”
Adrian wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. For a start, he was talking to Hermione Granger, willingly and without coercion. Furthermore, he was actually enjoying it. He peered into his coffee again. Had they put something in it?
Hermione laughed. “Maybe they are perfect for each other, then.” She peered curiously at him. “Are you alright, Pucey?”
He felt himself blush, which was completely unheard of; Adrian loosened his top button, intent on blaming the temperature for his red cheeks. “Yeah. I’m fine. I should get going, actually. That paperwork isn’t going to sort itself out.” A quick exit sounded like a good idea.
Standing up, he smiled a little apologetically. His hand briefly touched her shoulder as he left. “By the way, you can call me Adrian, Granger.”
One - Two - Three - Four - Five
Author: silvernatasha
Rating: All Ages
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: When people and relationships are changing around you, at least the coffee stays the same. Adrian/Hermione.
Word Count: 1694.
“I’m just going to get another drink,” Adrian told Theo, looking at his empty glass. Merlin, this was so boring. There was only so much of Blaise showing off his fiancée and the impossibly expensive ring she had finally put on her finger that he could take.
He wasn’t into bling, anyway.
Manoeuvring his way through the crowd, he nearly dropped his glass in surprise when Blaise suddenly grabbed him by the elbow, pulling him bodily over to him. “Here, Pucey. Come and keep this lovely young lady company, will you?” It took Adrian a couple of seconds to register exactly who Blaise was talking about: Hermione Granger.
His eyes widened in horror as Blaise patted him on the arm, smirking in his usual way. “Make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble.” Blaise winked at him, and then strode off, presumably to see Ginny.
Adrian looked at Hermione, trying to decide what to say to her. Finally, he decided on, “Evening, Granger.”
“Pucey.” She inclined her head in greeting, not looking particularly impressed. It was a little annoying, actually, considering how long he’d put into getting ready - at this sort of event there were always wizards and witches with whom it would be good to ‘network’, so he was trying to make a good impression. Granger didn’t look the slightest bit awed.
“Did you want a drink?” he asked, feeling that it was the polite thing to do.
Hermione held up her glass; it was nearly full. “I don’t really need one, thanks. Not unless you’re trying to get me drunk.”
She shifted a little uncomfortably under his gaze, wishing that his eyes weren’t quite so blue. They were a little disconcerting, but mainly they were mesmerising. For a moment, her gaze locked with his and she choked back a gasp. Was the colour entirely natural? She’d heard of potions that could change the colour of your eyes, but never known anyone to actually use them. He looked vain enough, but if his eyes were naturally that colour then he’d have good reason to be vain.
After more consideration, the rest of his face wasn’t bad, either. Hermione tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I’m sure you’ll do that all by yourself.”
Hermione gaped indignantly at him. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean, Pucey?”
“Don’t look so offended, pet. Just saw you the other night in the club. You were definitely knocking the drinks back. Don’t think I saw you without a drink in your hand all night.”
Hermione rolled her eyes, sipping her drink and reminding Adrian that he as actually quite thirsty. “It was a hen party. I just got a bit caught up in things.”
“I dunno. You were looking very caught up in things when you were dancing around that pole.” As soon as he said this, Adrian regretted it. That sort of comment was as crass as those shirts that the Weasley twins wearing, which declared, She’s finally an honest woman. Sort of.
Hermione grimaced. Although she didn’t really remember the pole-dancing incident all that well, she had seen pictures. To say that they didn’t show her best side was something of an understatement. “Thanks. I was trying to forget that.”
“Sorry.”
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise at his apology. “Oh. Um. That’s alright.” Hermione sighed. “You don’t have to stay here just because Blaise told you to. Would’ve thought that you had a bit more of a backbone than that.”
Adrian knew exactly what she meant. Why was he still standing here talking to her? There were plenty of other people for either of them to talk to, and Blaise was too caught up in kissing away his fiancée’s lipstick to care about what they were doing.
“In that case,” Adrian said with a grin, “I’m going to go and get myself a drink. See you around, pet.”
Ron sighed, passing Hermione another drink. She wasn’t sure whether it was her third or fourth glass of champagne, but decided it didn’t really matter. It was Friday night and she wasn’t paying. “What’s the world coming to?”
Hermione raised her eyebrows at Ron’s question. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I dunno. Ginny’s marrying Zabini, you’re flirting with Pucey and Parkinson just asked me out for a drink. Next thing we know, Harry’ll be shacking up with Nott or something.”
Hermione nearly choked on her champagne. “I was not flirting with Pucey.” She paused. “And Harry doesn’t swing that way.”
Ron pulled a face. “Oh, you were flirting with him. You did your pushing your hair back thing. You always do that when you’re flirting.”
“I do not!” Hermione gaped at him. Honestly. How he even suggest that she would flirt with Adrian? Pucey. Whatever.
“You do. Trust me. I remember from personal experience.” Ron sipped his drink, reaching for a strawberry from the large bowl on the table. “So. Did he ask you out?”
She made an indignant sound. “No. And I’m not expecting him to.” Hermione looked at Ron curiously, narrowing her eyes. “Did you say ‘yes’ to Parkinson?”
Ron shifted uncomfortably, snagging another strawberry from the bowl. “Well, you know, she had the cleavage and the eyes and the…” He swallowed. “Yeah. We’re going out tomorrow night.” Seeing the blush rise up on his cheeks, Hermione stifled a giggle.
Clearing his throat, Ron took a gulp of champagne. “So what’s going on with you and Pucey, then?”
Hermione nearly rolled her eyes at Ron’s transparent attempt to change the subject. “There’s nothing going on. Blaise just shoved the two of us together just now.” Turning her head, she looked over at Adrian. By the way he seemed to be very interested in his shoes, Hermione was fairly certain that he had been staring at her. This made her feel a little uneasy, although not in the same way as it had before.
“And do you want anything to happen?” Hermione frowned at Ron’s question. “You haven’t had a boyfriend in months.”
She huffed in annoyance. “Why do people assume that I need a boyfriend? I’m perfectly happy by myself. I don’t need anyone.”
Ron chewed thoughtfully on a strawberry. “No,” he corrected himself, “it must be nearly a year since your last bloke. What was his name? Rupert?”
“Roger.” Hermione gave a weary sigh. “Adrian isn’t my type, anyway.”
“Since when has he been ‘Adrian’ and not ‘Pucey’?” Ron raised his eyebrows, taking yet another strawberry. He looked critically over at Adrian. “Anyway, I’m straight and I think he’s my type.”
Hermione hit him on the arm. “Ron!”
“What?” Ron’s face flushed, but he grinned at her. “Come on, you have to admit he’s not bad looking. Chiselled jaw, nice mouth, and those eyes… do you think they’re natural?”
A petite witch appeared beside Ron, looking rather bemused. “Are you still sure that you want to go out tomorrow? Or would you rather cancel and ask Ade out instead?”
“Ade?”
“Adrian.” Pansy frowned. “You know he’s my cousin, right?” She wrinkled her nose, taking a strawberry from Ron’s fingers. “I don’t think he likes redheads, anyway.”
“Uh. No. I think I’d rather take you out instead.”
“Do you drink anything that isn’t coffee or champagne?”
Hermione wasn’t a big fan of Monday mornings. Coffee tended to make the morning a little brighter, but hearing Adrian Pucey’s voice just made her feel a bit funny. And not in the normal way.
“Apparently, I’ve been known to do the odd tequila shot. Funnily enough, I don’t really remember doing them, though.”
Adrian grinned. “Can I take this seat, pet? All the other tables are full.”
Hermione nodded, sipping her coffee. “Yeah. Go ahead.” She folded up her newspaper, deciding to try and make a bit of conversation. “Um, how are you this morning?”
“I got into work this morning to find that not only is one of the secretaries ill, but that I have a huge pile of paperwork on my desk. I’m slowly slogging through it, but,” he held up his cup, “I needed a bit of a caffeine refill.”
“I can understand that feeling,” Hermione agreed. She paused, biting her lip; she wasn’t normally a gossip, but this subject just begged to be talked about. “Did you hear what’s happened with Ron and Pansy?”
Adrian gave a snort of laughter. “I haven’t spoken to her personally, but are they really moving in together?”
“Apparently.” Hermione rolled her eyes, barely believing it herself. “They only had their first date a week ago. It’s ridiculous if you ask me.”
“They’re both crazy.” Adrian peered into his coffee, then sipped it a little hesitantly. “Only goes to prove that they’re perfect for each other.”
“I suppose.”
“I heard that it was Pansy who started everything. Personally, I think it’s that whole biological clock ticking away thing and Weasley’s a safe bet.”
Hermione shook her head in disbelief. “Oh, please. She’s twenty-four, the same age as me. She’s got plenty of time to have children.” After a sip of coffee, she continued, “Anyway, Ron is anything but a safe bet. He’s volatile, hot-headed, prone to mood swings and jealousy…” Hermione wrinkled her nose. “I think I just listed all the reasons why my relationship with Ron didn’t work.”
“I think you also just described Pansy perfectly. She’s hardly the most stable witch I’ve ever met.”
Adrian wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. For a start, he was talking to Hermione Granger, willingly and without coercion. Furthermore, he was actually enjoying it. He peered into his coffee again. Had they put something in it?
Hermione laughed. “Maybe they are perfect for each other, then.” She peered curiously at him. “Are you alright, Pucey?”
He felt himself blush, which was completely unheard of; Adrian loosened his top button, intent on blaming the temperature for his red cheeks. “Yeah. I’m fine. I should get going, actually. That paperwork isn’t going to sort itself out.” A quick exit sounded like a good idea.
Standing up, he smiled a little apologetically. His hand briefly touched her shoulder as he left. “By the way, you can call me Adrian, Granger.”
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