Chapter 5
Draco found himself standing outside of a large building in Muggle London on a Monday afternoon that had turned quite gloomy in the hours since meeting with Luna to scry for Hermoine. There was a sign on the building that represented multiple businesses inside. He lifted an unpleasantly lukewarm cup of tea to his lips then shuddered in disgust and fought the urge to utilize a warming charm on the drink. He could count on one hand the amount of times he had ventured to muggle territory and he preferred not to risk using magic while there if he could help it. There was a neat looking sign plate by the door of the building he assessed that indicated which businesses were housed inside. He made his way up the steps and reached for the door handle ready to confront the witch. He was too focused on this anticipated interaction to notice the door that slammed into his face before he could step out of the way. A searing pain shot through the bridge of his nose as he stumbled back to recover from the blow. He felt a bit dizzy as he stood for a moment to collect himself and there was large wet space on his torso from where his flimsy cup of tea had been smashed against him and there was a warm liquid seeping down to his upper lip that must be a fucking bloody nose.
“Sweet Jesus I am so sorry” Draco fully expected to hear the same voice that had haunted his dreams for the past several nights to be the one coming from the person who had clocked him with a door. But no, this was a man’s voice and it was a man who stood before him stunned and apologizing. Draco rolled his eyes and tried his very best to be patient with the muggle and responded curtly while also adding “Can you direct me to the washroom or bring a towel?” The muggle was already rifling through his bag and presented Draco with a scarf to hold to his nose. Draco protested but the muggle gently pressed the fabric to his nose to stop the bleeding while escorting him into the building. It was then that Draco was able to fully assess the man that had rammed the door into his face. He was tall, likely just about the same height as Draco himself. He had tan skin and Dark eyes that matched his perfectly styled, smooth dark hair. “I am so sorry to run but I was just called into the hospital” The man said in a rush. Draco moved to clear the entryway so that the man could exit past him while still holding the scarf to his nose. The man gave him another nod and an apology while telling him to keep the scarf. As he scooted past, Draco noticed a name badge with the man’s face on it clipped to his collar with the name “Dean”, then “Dean” was out the door and gone just as abruptly as he had approached.
Draco’s aspirations to avoid magic in the muggle world quickly fell to the wayside at the development of his broken nose. He ducked into a washroom at the end of the hall of offices and performed a quick charm to numb the pain and stop the blood flowing from his nostrils. It wasn’t the best healing method but it was all he could do at the moment. He cursed himself for not stashing a healing potion into his extended pocket while he stashed the scarf and tucked his hair into place before continuing on his mission to find Granger.
There were several offices that branched off of the main hall in the building. Each one had a name plate on the front stating the name of the business. There was a solicitor’s office, and an estate agent on one side while the business on the other seemed to take up the entire other half of the building. The nameplate beside the door read “Family Physician Partners”. Draco pushed open the door and made his way through a bright waiting room toward a reception desk. There was a young muggle female with a phone to hear ear tapping away at a contraption in front of her. Draco thought to himself that perhaps he should have brushed up on developments in muggle technology before rushing out to the middle of London, but truth be told he felt confident that any technology that muggles developed would pale in comparison to what wizards could effortlessly conjure with a wand. He just wished he had known what the rectangular screen that the secretary was glaring into was for. He slowly approached the desk and channeled his flustered energy into what he thought was a truly charming smile.
“I’d like to see Grang- I mean Mrs. Granger please. If she is available”
The secretary’s eyes traveled from his midsection up to his face as she assessed him. She paused for a moment on his chest before meeting his eyes. If he hadn’t known better he would have thought there was a slight irritation in her voice when she responded.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“Uuuuuum, no” his voice lilted the tiniest bit and he kicked himself for the hesitation.
“Mrs. Granger is a very busy woman”
“Sorry, I mean yes I have an appointment” Draco's eyes fell to the clock on the wall behind the desk, it was half past one. “I have an appointment at one thirty” Thankful for his ability to think on his feet he decided to push his luck with the secretary and flexed the muscles in his chest he had seen her ogling a moment before. Her cheeks showed a tinge of pink as her eyes again lingered on his chest. The slight flush flickered and then vanished and the twinge of irritability flashed across her face.
“Mrs. Granger is at the hospital for the rest of the day if you give me your name I can look in our system and see if there has been a scheduling error Mr…..” Her voice trailed as she tilted her head to the side expectantly.
“Ah Zabini…. Blaise Zabini” Draco stuttered into a quick recovery, he considered the outcomes of Granger knowing that he was looking for her and concluded that having the element of surprise on his side might prove beneficial in confronting her about the curse. No, today he was just a confused Mr. Zabini with a merry mix up of appointment times. The secretary leaned back in her chair a bit and he noticed a familiar looking name badge clipped to her collar with her photo next to it that read “Rose”. She settled back into her seat and tapped away on the gadget in front of her while snapping the gum in her mouth. “Mmmhmm” she said slowly “And what is your birthday Mr. Zabini?” Draco thanked his rather unlucky stars that he knew the birthday of his old friend and rattled it off to Rose. She tapped a few more times and before snapping her eyes to him and crossing her arms while leaning on the desk. Mr. Zabini it seems you are a day late to the appointment that you already arrived for yesterday. Once again luck was NOT on his side, Draco felt the blood drain from his face and he fought the urge to obliviate Rose in front of the entire room of waiting muggles. Why the fuck had Blaise Zabini been to see Hermoine Granger in muggle London? The stern look on Rose’s face told him to come up with an explanation for his antics. He sighed and tilted his head to the ceiling, squinting as his eyes crossed the harsh fluorescent lighting. Fucking muggle electricity, how did Granger tolerate living under these conditions day in and day out? His eyes burned at the brightness and he let out a sigh while rolling his neck to the side. He made a split second decision to end this interaction immediately, he’d really really tried to play by muggle rules but a bloody nose and a tight assed secretary had sufficiently pushed him over the edge. He snatched his wand out of his pocket and swept the room, stunning the waiting muggles as he went. Rose watched him in abject horror as he made his way back to her and obliviated her right where she sat. As he turned to leave he did notice a cup of coffee sitting on her desk and he hit it with a warming charm as he left as a gesture of good will to the ornery Ms. Rose.