Wednesday Morning
02 September 2009
Hermione's POV
It was only Wednesday, and it'd already been a hell of a week.
I sat at my desk, shrugging off my coat as I did so, and noticed that Draco's desk was, as yet, still empty, and couldn't help but smirk at myself.
He'd come scampering in right at 8:59 on Monday, his suit and hair adorably mussed, practically stammering an apology about "running late again" before launching straight into a discussion of his thoughts over our meeting with Davies and Williams, our Senior Research partners in the Love Chamber.
"What did you think of the meeting Friday?" he'd asked, unpacking his briefcase.
"I thought it went well," I'd replied almost immediately. "They gave us a lot of information to go over."
"Did they, though?" he'd asked, eyes narrowing slightly. "I mean, do you think any of it particularly useful for the Erised case? It was all fascinating, but I don't see how it's going to help us any."
My musings were interrupted by Draco bursting through our office door at 8:56, once again taking his seat across from me, unpacking his briefcase, eyes glancing up to mine momentarily.
"Erm..."
"Running late again?" I guessed, making sure to take my time going over his charmingly rumpled hair and suit, once again, clearly just thrown on before arriving at the Ministry.
"Erm... yeah," he affirmed, giving me a tiny smile.
"Thinking I should probably figure out a new signature look. One that doesn't take up so much time," he quipped, running a hand through his tousled hair.
"Absolutely," I replied, nodding with mock seriousness. "Certainly not just getting out of bed earlier."
"Granger-Weasley," Draco smirked, taking out a sheaf of parchment and flipping through it. "Honestly, what would be the fun in that?"
I rolled my eyes and threw a wadded-up piece of parchment at him.
"Anyway," I said pointedly, looking through my own notes. "We've another meeting with Davies and Williams this morning. Since you're of the opinion that the information they provided last time wasn't all that helpful, is there anything, in particular, you'd like for us to discuss today?"
Draco sighed.
"Yes, and no," he said, frowning, and I couldn't help rolling my eyes again. "I mean, I think there's definitely information they can provide, but I don't think we understand enough about how the app functions to ask the correct questions."
I nodded.
"Ok, so... let's just meet with them and see where it goes?"
Draco nodded and yawned, stretching his arms above his head.
"Do you need coffee?" I asked, grinning.
"No," he sighed, grinning at me ruefully.
"I need to stop letting this bloke distract me when I'm trying to research," he admitted, and I jerked my head back up to look at him in surprise.
"You let him distract you from your research?" I echoed doubtfully.
Draco Malfoy was, perhaps, almost as fastidious and driven as I was when it came to his work.
Honestly, we argued, often and heatedly, about who was the more finicky of the two of us when it came to researching, note-taking, and the like.
Ron and Blaise insisted that the fact we would even argue something like that, as though it were something worth bragging about, was reason enough for us both to share the "most boring person in the world" prize, as my dear husband so lovingly put it.
"I'd let this one distract me from just about anything," Draco admitted, resting his chin in his hand and gazing off into the distance, clearly remembering last night or some other fond memory of this bloke.
Who, you remember, I had my suspicions, happened to be my best mate.
"Merlin, Draco," I teased, shuffling through more parchment. "Are you sure someone hasn't snuck the app onto your phone?"
Draco snorted and sat upright once more.
"You think I didn't put a protective spell around all of my devices the day I learnt of that stupid app?" he demanded haughtily. "Put one on his, too. Not taking any chances."
He paused and frowned.
"Have you put one on yours? And Ron's?" he asked, eyes snapping in my direction, any joking or taunting aside. "Just to be sure? I mean, you never know."
I shook my head, ignoring Draco's off-hand, most likely unintended slight that it'd be a stretch anyone would try to put the Erised app on either my or Ron's mobile.
"Perhaps you should do it," I told him, holding my mobile up to him.
There were very few people in the world who had access to, and the ability to execute, the sort of protective spells someone like Malfoy would know.
Draco took out his wand and swished it at my device, and I felt a surge of magic enveloping it.
"Thanks," I said, smiling gratefully. "We'll have to get Ron's later."
***
An hour later, Draco and I were seated in the main chamber of the Thought Room, awaiting the arrival of Davies and Williams.
"Morning," Davies chirped as they entered.
He was a cheerful, middle-aged man, just beginning to go grey around his temples and had been doing research in the Love Chamber for about a decade.
Williams, his partner, was a few years younger than Draco and I, and about as brilliant as they come.
He'd begun working as a Senior Researcher in the Love Room a few years ago, at the age of twenty-two, being the youngest person ever appointed to such a position in over two hundred years.
"Morning," I replied, smiling up at them.
"Davies, Williams," Draco nodded at them each, in turn, gesturing to the chairs across from us, indicating that they should have a seat.
"Have a good weekend?" Davies asked, taking the seat opposite me. "Hope you two had some actual time off, what with this case."
"I did," I assured him. "Didn't think about work for almost the entire weekend."
Davies was like a giant teddy bear, a father figure to everyone in the department, really.
"This case has nothing to do with actual love," Draco said, cutting right to the chase.
Draco was never one to bother with small talk, but really.
I shot him a pointed glare, which he, just as pointedly, ignored.
"I don't mean to say you've nothing relevant to share," he went on, seeing the taken-aback looks both Davies and Williams had on their faces.
"But the nutter behind this is clearly obsessed, which I think you'll both agree is something quite different from love," he looked at them both in turn, giving each an opportunity to disagree, should they have wanted to.
"So," Draco continued, shuffling through some of his parchment. "What is the difference between obsession and love? When does the one slide into the other? And where does thought figure into all of it?"
He paused to look at all of us again.
"If we can find where all three intersect, I think we'll have a much clearer understanding, not only of our suspect's motive but their state of mind and what, exactly, they hope to gain from this app."
"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" I asked, frowning.
"They want to gain the undying love of their... their... person..." I finished lamely, not sure what to call the target of the Erised app in this particular conversation.
"Yes, but I think Draco has a point," Williams spoke up. "There are tons of different types of love; for example, I love my family, I love my dog, I love this department, I love my partner. What I want and what I would consider a satisfactory reciprocation of said love from each is a very different situation. Understanding what the suspect wants as their end goal could be key."
Williams paused and frowned in thought.
"I'm not sure I agree with you on your ideas regarding obsession, though."
He paused and looked at Draco before continuing.
"I think the two are much more related than you realise."
"What do you think?" he asked, shifting his gaze to Davies as though seeking confirmation.
Davies sighed, brow furrowing as he took out some of his own parchment.
"It's difficult to say," he said at last. "I think there is a difference. However, that line is quite blurry. And, if I'm to be entirely honest, quite often invisible to those who cross it."
"Well, how would you say thought factors into this?" I asked, understanding Draco's questioning regarding our department and the sliding, blurry scale presented by Davies and Williams with sudden clarity.
"I mean," I clarified. "Would you say thought, and the brain's ability to process situations, is affected at all by crossing that line?"
"Most definitely," Davies stated at the exact same moment as Williams declared:
"Absolutely not."
"Interesting," Draco remarked, grinning at me.
"Well, I suppose that's your area of expertise," Williams added, looking first at Draco, then at me.
"I would say that obsession, just by its very definition, begins to remove actual thought from the equation, although the brain would still be very much involved," I began, taking a brief pause to gather my thoughts.
"It'd be almost like an addiction," I continued, brow furrowing. "The brain is functional, somewhat, but is convinced it needs this thing to continue functioning."
"And you two are positive the app is causing people to obsess, not love?" Williams asked.
"I'm not sure," I said, just as Draco ascertained:
"Definitely."
I suppose we had to let Davies and Williams know that we also disagreed on things.
"Well, you've been out on the field and interacting with more of the afflicted than I have," I admitted.
"They're all obsessed," Draco insisted. "They've hardly any idea what day or month it is, even. Anything outside of the person with whom they're obsessed. That's it. It's all their brain can focus on."
"Love begins with obsession, though, right?" Williams interjected.
"I mean, I think there's definitely a correlation," Davies glanced at me and grinned good-naturedly. "What do you say, Hermione? Seeing as we're the only two in this room who are in love at the moment?"
Draco, Williams, and I all burst out laughing.
"What, Kipp?" Williams joked, doing his best to look put off. "You don't think Draco and I are capable of finding love?"
"Quiet, you," Draco interjected, grinning.
"But, to bring us back on topic," he continued, because, of course, he would, "I think you've got a point, Davies. I think when one is falling in love, it feels very much like obsession, and it should, do you agree?"
He was, I realised, speaking from first-hand experience, and I couldn't help a small smile in his direction.
"You're, literally, two people who've found each other and are in the process of uniting, becoming one. You're fusing your lives, mind, body, soul, and so I'd imagine it'd feel a bit obsessive." Draco was on a roll now.
Davies nodded as though encouraging Draco to continue.
"But, if it's actual love, the obsession will eventually die away. It'd have to so that you could continue to function and carry on with the everyday. You'd still be in love, clearly, but able to function as two individuals, one complementing the other, correct?"
"Crikey," Davies chuckled. "Yes, very astute, Malfoy. Are you sure you don't want to transfer to the Love Chamber?"
"Quite," Draco replied, a good-natured smile in place so as not to offend.
"That all being said, I think it's worth asking ourselves if the creator of our little app realises this. That for their delusional relationship to survive, the obsession must give way to actual sentiment. Obsession fuelled by nothing but pure need can surely only die."
Davies looked around at all of us questioningly.
"So, now Death comes into the picture," Draco muttered, more to himself than aloud.
"Death is always in the picture," I reminded him. "It's inevitable, as are the effects of time. Thought and Love aren't actually guaranteed anyone, which is why, I think, our research so easily funnels into the other two realms."
"I think," Williams spoke up, "it's safe to say that love is a necessity in life. Not necessarily the romantic love you think of immediately, but love in general. As are things such as oxygen and food. They all exist on a scale. Too much or too little of any of it, and you'll die."
"Existence is all about balance, then?" I clarified.
Williams nodded.
"Yes, although I'm not so sure our suspect understood that when creating his app."
"I think," Davies said slowly, "we've all been given quite a bit to think about. What if we give ourselves some time to delve back into our own research, and we can meet again next week?"
"Sounds like a plan," Draco agreed, looking at me to see if I had any objections.
"There's definitely a lot to go over," I admitted. "Shall we say 10 am on Monday?"
"No objections here," Davies assured us, Williams nodding his head in agreement, mobile already out to add the appointment to his calendar.
"Right, then, happy researching and all," Davies grinned as he and Williams stood and filed out of the room.
"Well," I turned to Draco, brows raised expectantly. "Do you still think they had no information for us?"
"Bastards were holding out on us," he joked, grabbing up his parchment and heading back towards our office.
"Hurry up, Mione, we've got loads of work to do."