Aurelian (Dramione)

Chapter 25: Fighting for Position

"Um, well, I-I don't know," Hermione hesitated. She didn't know what else to say. She wasn't sure that she'd like to have some, but she also didn't want to be rude.

"I'll just have to take that as a yes then." Blaise smiled as he poured the amber liquid into the glass. He handed it to Hermione and went back to his place, pulling out another glass. "Draco?"

Draco nodded irritably. "Just get on with it, Zabini."

Blaise smirked at Draco and started pouring two more drinks. Hermione watched him and then looked back at Draco. His eyes met hers and he felt a little of his tension slip. He was uptight wondering what Blaise so badly wanted to talk to him about and flustered by his friend's need to entertain, as it was getting in the way of talks. But the added frustration was Blaise turning on his full charm with a girl he knew Draco was serious about. Draco was insecure enough without Blaise interfering. That one look from Hermione though, was enough to calm him a little. Though Hermione was blushing at Blaise's attention, she looked confused rather than captivated. Though obviously flattered, she appeared curious and amused by Blaise's behavior. Draco felt rather smug at that point. His girl was not lured by Blaise's suave gentility. 'His girl.' He wondered when he started thinking of her that way. He decided it didn't matter. She was his girl, at least from his point of view.

Blaise handed Draco a glass of firewhiskey and took a seat on the sofa, leaving the other armchair for Draco. Draco glanced at it but remained standing.

"Get on with it," he repeated. "It's Pansy, isn't it?"

Blaise looked up at Draco in shock and his smile fell. Time for niceties was over. It was time to talk. His shoulders drooped. "This investigation does have to do with the Parkinsons then…"

Draco and Hermione exchanged looks. Draco hadn't meant to reveal that. Blaise sighed heavily. "I was at work today. I had a meeting with Mr. Parkinson scheduled just before lunch. It was business, but since you asked me to watch more closely, I thought I'd take the time to have a personal chat with him as well. I was waiting outside his doors as his prior meeting had run over and he was still with a client. While I was standing there, Katie Bell came up and started waiting, too. You'll know her, Katie Bell, she was a Gryffindor a year above us," he directed at Hermione and she nodded.

Draco looked away from them both. He certainly remembered her and he remembered her with great guilt. It was one of the greatest regrets of his life… when Katie was cursed by the necklace that she was meant to deliver to Dumbledore.

"She works for the company," Blaise continued, not noticing Draco's reaction. "I'm sure she has a pretty job title, but in essence, she's a delivery person, a messenger. Mr. Parkinson is rather old-fashioned in that sense. He believes that business should be personal, which is how he runs his company. Some deliveries and messages should be delivered in person, rather than by owl, which is rather impersonal. It's very rare then that one of these delivery people be summoned by Mr. Parkinson, as he prefers to do such business himself. I really didn't think much of it at first though. She was a pretty girl just standing there with me, so I started chatting her up a bit. That's when I realized that she seemed rather anxious. I mean, a lot of people are nervous when called to see the president of the company, but she seemed more anxious than she should."

Draco and Hermione watched him, their looks of concern growing, but they did not interrupt.

"The door to the office opened and Mr. Parkinson was seeing his client out, smiling and clapping him on the back. He's one of the company's oldest clients… literally. His smile fell the second he saw Katie though," Blaise's eyes looked glazed, as if he were replaying the scene in his head. His handsome face was marred by a look of great frustration. "I know my appointment with Mr. Parkinson was next, but I gestured for Katie to go in. I listened. I used a charm to assist me in eavesdropping. I'm not ashamed of it," he added defensively to Hermione. He was afraid the proud Gryffindor would judge him for it, but she looked completely unperturbed. "She's making a delivery for him tomorrow."