Business Dinner (Ana)

[BRADLEY PARKER XAVIER]

Bradley slammed the dresser drawer shut. “There. Done.” He said to his empty, and now completely packed, chambers. He looked around with a sense of accomplishment, he had done it the muggle way by putting everything in the drawer himself, he had found that it made it easier to remember where everything was if you did it that way as opposed to using your wand. Looking around his chambers he smiled, he guessed working for the ministry had its benefits; his chambers were giant, much bigger than he needed or could really fill. He took a deep breath and let it out with a big smile on his face, it was good to be back at Hogwarts.

Bradley checked his watch and smiled, he had finished in just enough time to change and head out for his dinner-meeting. He had to meet with another Ministry Representative, they needed to discuss the potential for Hogwarts hosting a series of games with another Magical University, they were to try to hammer out some of the logistics that would be involved. The thought was kind of a bore to Bradley, but he loved the concept of Hogwarts potentially hosting Durmstrang or even Appalachian Alchemy Academy, both of which were known for producing some of the best quidditch players in the world. Seeing one of those teams playing in Hogwarts Stadium against Gryffindor or Slytherin with all of the school behind them… the atmosphere would be electric. Bradley felt his inner quidditch nerd shiver with excitement and suddenly he couldn’t wait to get to dinner as he jumped in the shower.

Bradley tightened his tie up to his neck; it was a narrow red tie that popped against the pale dress shirt, he clipped it with a small silver tie-clip he had been given by his little sister last year for Christmas. He slipped his navy blue jacket over his shoulders and left it unbuttoned as he looked at himself in the mirror. He frowned slightly before grabbing his fedora off the dresser and securing it snuggly on his head with a slight angle; Bradley re-evaluated himself and smirked. Now he was ready. He walked out of his chambers and sauntered down towards the stairs, Headmistress McGonagal had given him use of the room of requirement for his meeting tonight; she had one of the house elves prepare it for him earlier in the afternoon. Bradley finally made it into the corridor where the entrance to the room was and smiled as he saw one of the house elves standing by the door, proudly waiting on Bradley’s arrival.

“I gots the room ready for you, Master Xavier. It looks lovely, very romantic.” The house elf beamed with pride, catching Bradley a little off guard. The house Elf opened the door to show off to Bradley, and he was right. The room was at a low candle light, bright enough to see and do paperwork, but still dim enough to set more of a romantic mood. The table was medium sized, not too small, but definitely not large enough for more than two people; the room had red curtains draped along the walls with paintings of beautiful countryside with moving clouds and flowers. Bradley looked down confused at the house elf who instantly looked crushed at his lack of enthusiasm. “Does Master Xavier not like the room?” his tone was heart breaking and Bradley had to quickly recover, “No! It’s perfect. Just breath-taking is all. Very, Very well done.” Bradley forced a beaming smile as the house elf lit up with excitement, he was pretty sure the house elf would could have done a backflip at the moment if he had not been trying to remain professional. “This is going to be awkward” Bradley figured he would just have to apologize to whoever he was meeting and explain that the house elf had gotten the wrong idea, although he wasn’t exactly looking forward to sharing a romantic dinner with a probably over-weight diplomat that’s already upset about having to come to Hogwarts.

Bradley sighed and sat down at the table and poured himself a glass of wine, swishing it in the glass slightly, Muggle wines had become a new guilty pleasure for Bradley, he lifted the glass to his nose and took a long inhale, tasting the bouquet of the wine. Bradley took a small sip and set the glass down, reaching into his messenger bag and pulling out a small journal and quill, sitting them next to his plate as he waited patiently for his guest.

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[ana]

Hogwarts. She hadn’t been back in ages. She hadn’t wanted to come back ever. There were too many memories buried here. Too many nightmares that she wanted to put behind her. It was the place that haunted every thought that she used to have... Not since she had left her sixth year after experiencing a rather traumatizing vision. She could still hear the echoes of their laughter after what had happened, the way that they looked at her like she was some sort of freak of nature, the way that her mother had pulled her out of school before she had been able to say anything to anyone about where she was going. Anastasia Grayson stood in front of the door into the castle, simply staring up at the large building in front of her. It felt different this time; it didn’t instill as much anxiety in her as it once had. Perhaps she was finally getting over her experience all those years ago. It was more beautiful than she had remembered. Perhaps it was the way that the moon was reflecting off of the terraces that made her heart beat a little quicker with anticipation, or the fact that she had a very important business associate waiting for her inside.

Ana hated business dinners. Perhaps even more than she hated business lunches. Or business brunches. Or when the odd bird from the Department of Magical Maladies brought her half of a stale sandwich every Wednesday and simply claimed that he wasn’t hungry and then hung around until she politely declined his offer with as small a smile as she could manage. She took a small step forward and almost toppled completely over. The heel of her shoe had caught on a small piece of pavement that was uneven on the ground. She cursed her lack of grace and bold choice to wear the killer heels that had been picking up dust in the back of her closet - she was going to get herself into some sort of trouble tonight. With a grunt of annoyance, she pulled her light purple pump free and shook some of the dirt off of the edge of her shoe. She wasn’t about to go into a dinner looking like a fool. She reached into her tote and pulled out her wand, pointing it at the dirt spots, ”Scorgify.” And with that, it was all cleaned up and she looked every bit as professional as she had before her little misstep.

With another deep breath, she pushed forward, slipping her wand back into her purse, walking toward the door into the castle and tugging it open. Surprisingly, for being such a large door, it wasn’t that heavy, and she was able to move it with minimal effort. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when the did, she was overwhelmed with a sense of nostalgia. Wow, She thought as she looked around the entrance hall. The grand stair case was in front of her, a few small corridors to her left and right. It was even more beautiful than she could have thought up.

”Miss Grayson?”

[/i] A house elf had appeared near her arm and she looked down in shock. Ana took a step back and straightened her trench coat, generally terrified of the small...abomination. She was sure that her face was showing ever bit as much of the repulsion that she felt, but the small elf didn’t seem to take notice, ”This way please.”[/i] He trotted off to the left and Ana had to walk quickly to keep up - it was no small task, considering that her shoes left her only able to shuffle across the floor gracelessly, ”Here you are, Miss. Have a lovely dinner.”[/i] He stopped in front of a door and pointed her inside.

Ana took a deep breath and then opened the door. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they did, she saw that it was nothing like what she had expected. Dim lighting? Candles? Wine? She found herself standing in the doorway staring blankly at the figure that was in front of her. Should she move forward? Should she say something? Ana was completely dumbfounded in that moment. She heard the door close behind her and could only imagine that the house elf had been the one to do it. Slowly, she slipped her trench coat off and hung it over her arm, revealing her outfit of choice for the night. A dramatic black cocktail dress, delicately draped over one shoulder. She walked forward, trying to figure out who exactly it was already sitting at the table. By the time that she got close enough to distinguish a face, it was too late.

”Mr. Xavier. What a pleasure.” Her voice was as calm and collected as she could manage, although, she could feel some of her nervous energy setting in. She knew Mr. Xavier quite well, they worked together on occasion at the ministry, but this was the first time that she had been assigned a project with only him. She bit down on her lip, almost afraid to sit down and join him at the...intimate place setting.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/size]

[BRADLEY PARKER XAVIER]

Bradley looked up from his notes, he had decided to jot down a couple of questions already written down; just on the logistics. As he heard the clicking of heels he looked up to greet his guest, a charming smile on his face as she came into view.

Ana Grayson.

“Well, this certainly changes things.” Bradley’s smile stayed steady, he genuinely enjoyed Ana; he had ran into her once or twice while they attended Hogwarts together, but had never really talked to her. He still remembered her chilling vision during his 7th year. Everyone had out-casted her as a freak. He was glad the first time he had ran into her at the Ministry, quite literally if he remembered correctly; she had tripped and fallen into him. But, for as much as Bradley enjoyed Ana, he was pretty sure she despised him just as much.

Ana thought of Bradley as a womanizer, which for all intents and purposes; was true. However, Bradley was just genuinely trying to be nice to Ana. He couldn’t stand to see someone be treated the way that the kids at Hogwarts had treated her. It was barbaric and cold. He was glad he saw her working for the ministry and doing something with her life so she could show all of them up one day.

Bradley stood up from the table and waved his hand towards her chair which had already been pulled out. After all, this was a formal business dinner so Bradley had to maintain common courtesies and manners. “An… Ms. Grayson; it’s wonderful to see you again. I thought that they were going to be sending Weasley or Sawyer, but this is a wonderful surprise.” Bradley beamed at her, “Please, join me.” Bradley once again waved to the empty chair.

“My apologies about the room, I guess one of the house elves didn’t fully understand what a business dinner meant, and he must have just seen Mr. Xavier and Ms. Grayson. I would have had him change it, but he was just so happy and proud of how he prepared it. I didn’t have the heart to tell the little guy he’d messed up.” Bradley offered her an apologetic smile, “I’m sure we can work under these conditions?” He raised an eyebrow just slightly as he asked the question. After all the lighting wasn’t too dim, he had been able to read his own notes without any trouble.

As she took her seat, Bradley slipped around the table and helped her scoot in towards the table, before returning to his own seat across from her. He gave her another charming smile as two house elves brought in their first course, “A tortellini Italian wedding soup. One of Mr. Xavier’s favorite if we remember correctly.” The elf beamed brightly, looking over at Bradley expectantly for confirmation.

“Why yes, you do. Thank you.” Bradley smiled as the pulled the silver domes off of the bowls and disappeared out of the room without another word. “Such amazing creatures… they’re only goal in life is to please other people.” Bradley looked back over at Ana making a polite attempt at small-talk.

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[ana]

‘Oh Merlin,’ Ana could feel the panic setting in. Bradley Xavier. She had crashed into him on her first day of work a couple of years ago and she had never felt like she had lived it down. Of course, he had been cool about it, but why woulnd’t he be? He wanted to get into the pants of every girl under the age of 35 that worked at the Ministry. The thought made her want to gag. Ana tried to remember the last time that she had seen Bradley - normally avoidance was her best tactic when it came to him - and she could only place it the other week when she had been forced to go around to his office for a Quidditch Consultation. The pair of them were fine coworkers, but past that, he terrified Ana. For one, he was the biggest womanizer that the ministry had ever seen and she was afraid of getting sucked into that little web of his. But mostly because he knew. He knew about her incident in her 6th year. He had been there. He had seen her. He had probably called her a freak along with the rest of them. She felt herself wince involuntarily, but she hoped that he hadn’t noticed. That wasn’t something that she wanted to explain right now.

Ana felt her self growing more at ease already, although, her hands were shaking. It was a tell that she was nervous. She slowly sat down in the chair, unsure of what to do with her trench coat, so she opted to just set it on her lap, ”Weasley and Sawyer both decided to take last minute vacations, leaving most of the International Magical Cooperation work to me.” Ana was pleased to see that he seemed to be following business formalities just fine. Perhaps she could get through this night completely unscathed.

”What-” Ana realized that he was referring to the apparent romance of the room, something that she had hoped that they were both going to ignore. She felt a slight blush rush to her cheeks and then, she realized how incredibly thankful she actually was for the dim lighting. Her emotions could be veiled if he had any trouble seeing them, so this was perfect. She also noted the way that he spoke about the house elf. As if it had feelings. Wasn’t it it’s job to serve the wizarding community? Wasn’t that their duty? They were house elves for Merlin’s sake...not liberated goblins of Gringots. They had to earn their social standing and in Ana’s mind? They hadn’t. Not even close. But she bit her tongue, afraid that now was not the time to get into a dispute about the social hierarchy that was the Wizarding World’s way, ”I have no complaints.” Ana said, referring to the lighting in the room. She reached forward and took the wine bottle, turning it over in her hands so that she could read the label. A fine wine to be sure...She wondered briefly if Bradley had picked it out himself. She poured a little into her wine glass and then left it there, not wanting to be the one to drink first.

Soup was served and Ana was happy that that weird little creature was gone, she leaned forward and dipped her spoon into the bowl, raising it up to her lips and then blowing on it, ”Pathetic really-” The words escaped her lips before she realized what she had said. She realized that the words had come from her mouth and she stared at Bradley for a long time, afraid to move even a muscle. Then she decided that she should at least make her words more justified, ”Honestly, can you imagine having to care for someone until you were bloodied and bruised? They’re so desperate for approval that they-” She picked up her wine glass and swirled the liquid around in circles for a moment before taking a small sip, ”Hang on your every word as if you’re king of the world. Not to mention that they’re absolutely crushed when they do anything wrong. Honestly? The world very well might be a better place if I never had to see them.” Her voice was tightly wound-up, and she suspected that adrenaline might have something to do with it. She was having dinner with a classmate, something that she had sworn she would never do in a million years.

She crossed her left ankle over her right and then stared at Bradley intently for a moment, studying those blue eyes of his. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but once she started looking she couldn’t draw herself away. She leaned forward, placing her forearms on the table and giving him a serious look, ”Sawyer told me that you needed to discuss International business.” She leaned backwards, hoping to draw their conversation back to the task at hand. Plus, she felt so much more comfortable when she spoke about work - there was no way that the conversation could be spun around and in turn, be about her. Her voice was icy, all the previous sense of timidness seemed to have gone, ”How can I be of assistance at the Department of International Magical Cooperation?” ‘Ice,’ She reminded herself, ‘Ice keeps you on track.’

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[BRADLEY PARKER XAVIER]

Ana seemed on edge to Bradley, and he wasn’t sure exactly why. But then again, she always seemed on edge when she was around him, so maybe that’s just how she was now days? He smiled at her politely while she explained why Weasley and Sawyer could not have made it and how she had been left to take care of the department. Bradley gave her a warm smile, “Well, once again, this is a wonderful surprise. I was terrified I was going to have to sit through another Percy Weasley dinner discussion about the social advantages of being a Gryffindor. Even as a Gryffindor myself… they make me contemplate suicide.” Bradley smiled softly at his own joke hoping to try and lighten the mood.

He visibly relaxed, the last thing he wanted Ana to think was that he was trying to seduce her, he already had a reputation as a womanizer and he didn’t want Ana to think he was trying something with her. Not that she wasn’t beautiful, Bradley had always thought she was gorgeous; she had stood out to him from the moment he first saw her during her second year. But the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry was in full-swing and that’s not even taking into account the fact that he’s a half-blood, and of course he knew about her family’s loyalties. Ana had been cleared of all charges after the battle of Hogwarts, however, that didn’t mean she wasn’t still loyal to Voldemort’s beliefs. Bradley studied her for a moment, looking at her jawline, it was set in firm defiance, she was a no nonsense type of person, but Bradley couldn’t truly believe she could be a death eater. He ventured a quick glance at her arm and notice there was no trace of a dark mark; his eyes quickly returned to hers, hoping that she hadn’t noticed his intuitive glance at her arm. “This room has always amazed me, the way it knows not what you want, but what you actually require. For example, poor Baxter didn’t understand the difference between a romantic date and a business date, so when he prepared the room he was telling the room to be romantic. However, the room knew we needed light and work space, and it gave us enough light to see one another, as well as a large enough table for us work.”

His face dropped slightly as she commented so harshly on the house elves, staring into her eyes for a moment. He gritted his teeth, the tension being obvious in his jawline as she stared back at him. “Perhaps you just don’t appreciate when someone is trying to do something nice for you, and instead you just assume they have ulterior motives.” Bradley replied coolly, his tone still polite and conversational, making it sound almost like a question instead of a blatant insult. Bradley was making direct reference to a time during his seventh year when he had tried to talk to Ana after her…er… “incident”, he had sat down next to her in the courtyard and he had transfigured a blade of grass into a flower for her. Bradley could not stand to see someone treated so vilely as they had treated her and he was simply trying to be a friend to her, to check on her and make sure she was okay. She accused him of trying to take advantage of her, and slapped him hard across the face. It was the last time Bradley had talked to her until she ran into him in the Ministry. He offered a polite smile before taking a small sip of his wine. “They’re focused. They have one goal in life and they are willing to do anything to achieve that; perhaps there is a lot we could learn from them and they’re dedication towards their masters.”

Zeke took a spoonful of his soup and smiled brightly, it was delicious. Oh how he had missed the food here at Hogwarts! He nodded politely as she turned the topic back to business, he assumed she would be turning that direction quickly. He opened up his notebook and skimmed over his notes before locking his eyes on hers. She had been staring at him… Was he talking too long to reply? He had just skimmed his notes quickly, and it wasn’t even a lot of notes, just a single page. “Sorry.” He apologized briefly for making her wait. “But yes, As you may or may not know, I am here setting back up Hogwarts inter-mural quidditch league this year. As an alumni, I don’t need to tell you how prestigious this league is. Hogwarts is responsible for producing some of the best quidditch players coming year in and year out. We feel after the…oh… let’s call them ‘Misfortunes’ last couple of years, that left Hogwarts with no quidditch leagues two out of the last three years. We feel that there is a strong need to show that Hogwarts can still produce. A lot of Wizarding parents have actually considered sending their children to other schools because they’ve lost faith in the quidditch program here.” Bradley paused to take another sip of wine, “So, what we are proposing is to have Hogwarts host a multi-school series. For Hogwarts to host another school for a series of matches; I think four matches would be appropriate, One for each house. This is, of course where you would come in. We would like to have Durmstrang or the Appalachian Alchemy Academy; both of which are considered to be two of the best quidditch programs in the world.” Bradley slowed himself down, feeling as if he was rambling on and on about his tournament idea. This was his baby. He had come up with the concept and pitched it to his superiors, and he was pretty sure that his ministry career would be riding on this project. But, he wanted to keep that a secret from Ana; he knew she wasn’t his biggest fan, and while he didn’t think she would shoot it down intentionally, he wasn’t prepared to take the risk either. “So… what do you think?” he asked hopefully, spooning another bite of soup.

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[ana]

Ana was not amused by his attempt at small talk. She eyed his smile carefully, trying to figure out what he was up to. Bradley Xavier did not just initiate small talk to be cute, he had to have an ulterior motive. She brought her hand up and covered her mouth as she yawned slightly, then leaned back in her chair. She tapped her foot ever so slightly as she stared him down. He was right, he wouldn’t have to deal with the mind-numbing conversation on the benefits of being a Gryffindor, instead he was going to have to deal with something that was far worse in Ana’s opinion, ”No-” Her voice was as controlled as she could manage, ”Instead you’ll have to sit through a dinner full of the constant push and pull of the Slytherin/Gryffindor rivalry.” She raised both of her eyebrows at him, then raised her wine glass as if she was suggesting a toast to the pair of them. She knew that she was right, she could feel it already. At least coming from her...There was a certain static electricity that seemed to be between them and it made Ana feel like it was pushing her to challenge him in whatever way she could manage.

Ana was deep in thought when she noticed that his eyes had darted to her arm. Instinctively, she covered her wrist with her other hand, afraid that he would see some of the scars from the incident. She hated when people looked at her arms. She felt her eyes narrow at him, but he pretended as if nothing had transpired and launched himself into a long winded speech about the Room of Requirement. She listened as best she could, but found herself irrevocably distracted by his lips. He was so passionate about what he was talking about, even though it was simply a room. She didn’t miss the way that everything seemed to be so exciting for him; he was rather like a child. The way that they curled around certain words and-

Ana stopped herself and mentally chided her subconscious. What was she thinking? Business dinner. ’All business or you walk out,’ She reminded herself and reached into her tote bag, pulling out a black portfolio and ink-less quill. She set it down on the table next to her soup bowl and opened it, briefly skimming the contents and tapping the quill against the outside of the folder, ”It certainly is an extraordinary room. It would be interesting to find out what causes it to work. The ministry could certain use such a-” She glanced up and then glanced around, eyeing the details of the small cove that surrounded them, ”Multi-purpose venue.” She knew that she was being far more formal than she normally was - after-all, she was only 21 years old and had hardly had time to grow in her formalities - but it was Ana’s only defense mechanism. She wasn’t sure how to defend herself against Bradley, but she knew that she needed to. He couldn't be trusted.

Ana felt her entire body tense up as he came back with a swinging return to her quip about house elves. Honestly, she hadn’t even expected him to acknowledge what she had been saying. And yet, he seemed so entirely cool and collected about the whole thing. Except for the way that his jaw was set. Ana saw it and recognized it as frustration. There, she was getting to him, ”People don’t just do nice things.” Ana retorted and slammed the portfolio shut as she stared at Bradley. She knew exactly what he was referencing. The way that he had tried to play her right after the incident. She remembered it as if it was yesterday. She had been sitting in the courtyard minding her own business when Bradley had showed up, trying to shower her with flowers and sentiments and trying to get her in bed with him. It was abhorrent. She had been so mortified that she had done the only thing that she could think of, she slapped him...as hard as she could manage. She could feel the fear starting to seep through her bones the more that she thought about it...what if she had let him take advantage of her...what would have happened? It was horrifying, the thought was. And then, before she became too lost in her own world, she was drawn out by Bradley’s polite smile and continuation of the conversation, ”I don’t need a lesson in dedication to masters.” Ana’s mother had taught her to be no one’s slave. Savannah Grayson had kept her daughter hidden from the Dark Lord and his forces because she hadn’t wanted her daughter to know the enslavement that she had. Ana felt her face harden even more and she looked down at her soup, desperate for some escape from Bradley’s unrelenting gaze.

She didn’t mind his apology, nor did she even acknowledge it, Ana just sat there, staring at Bradley with intensity, listening to ever word that he was saying. This was her job, to hear people out and make decisions about the viability of International ventures. It was up to her to decide what was a good idea and what was not, based on consultation with both Percy and Sawyer. She felt her lips tighten at the word ‘Misfortunes’ but decided that now was not the time to get into a fight about the War. There would be plenty of time for them to be hostile toward each other if this even progressed. Everyone that came to her for a professional opinion found themselves sorely disappointed when she denied their requests. She leaned back in her chair, uncrossing her ankles and then crossing her legs completely as she contemplated. It was certainly an interesting idea, that was for sure. But she wasn’t sure that it had been thought out completely, ”Have you considered inviting Beauxbatons or Salem Witches’ Institute? Or perhaps Mahoutokoro in Japan?” Ana picked up her wine glass and held it in front of her, not taking a drink yet. She was in complete work-mode, ”If you’re going to invite one, you have to invite all. The entire point of International Magical Cooperation is to foster a relationship with each of the Wizarding governments. Not simply those you deem best in Quidditch, Mr. Xavier.”

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[BRADLEY PARKER XAVIER]

Bradley smiled raising his glass, “Well, then it should feel like old times.” He took another sip of wine and smiled, it had been years since he had sat down and dealt with a Gryffindor Slytherin rivalry, but it would be relaxing and enjoyable all the same. “I still think I’d rather deal with this than listen to Percy Weasley ramble on for hours. I mean honestly… does that man ever shut up? Bloody Merlin. Anyone that works for him should get a medal for valor and courage.” Bradley joked slightly, hoping to alleviate some of the tension that she was putting off.

“Oh well, that part is simple; I already know what causes it to work, Ms. Grayson.” Bradley started with a slight smirk, “Why, Magic of course.” Bradley broke into a grin snickering at his own joke, once again trying to lighten the mood. Was she always so…formal? Formalities drove Bradley insane, he much preferred a more laid back and relaxed environment. But she was right, it would be useful if they could replicate this kind of charm and put it on other rooms, or build a room similar to this to give the Ministry some much needed office space and secrecy.

Bradley watched Ana tense up and felt the tension rising as she snapped back at him. “You’re wrong Anastasia. maybe Snakes don’t. But People do.” Bradley set with a faux tone of politeness. His eyes stayed centered on hers, his gaze not moving, or breaking, he was serious and he wanted her to know that Slytherins weren’t the only ones that could be intimidating or serious. Bradley genuinely cared about people, he would genuinely just do nice things for people. Typically it got misconstrued and people took it as him trying to be a womanizer. Bradley enjoyed female companionship as much as the next guy, but that wasn’t his sole intention in being nice to people, and he genuinely cared about Ana. He had felt awful for her when he saw what her fellow housemates had done to her. Bradley had wanted to be her friend and be there to help her, but she had wanted nothing to do with him back then, and he kind of got the feeling that the sentiment hadn’t changed.

Bradley shook his head, “For such a smart girl, you miss the point quite frequently. The lesson is not from their dedication to their masters, but their dedication to their goal. Their goal is to please their master, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish that. They won’t let anything stand in the way of obtaining what they want.” Bradley eyed Ana overtop of his wine glass as he took his final sip, “I for one, believe that if we want something, we should make every effort to obtain it.”

Bradley smiled brightly at her critiques and ideas, “You mean something along the lines of a full-scale Amateur World Cup?” His eyes lighting up like a small child’s at Christmas. “You’re bloody brilliant. It would be wonderful. We would need to set up extra lodging for all of the schools, especially considering that we would need to lengthen the event. Perhaps make it a year-long event? Also, how many teams should we allow each school to field?” Bradley grabbed his quill and started writing furiously, as questions poured out of him. “We’ll need someone from your department to be here to work and collaborate with me. I’ll send an Owl to Weasley and request you, of course. This was after all your idea; a bloody brilliant idea might I add.” Bradley rambled on, completely ignoring and forgetting the tension from just a couple of moments ago. “We’ll need to get to work quickly, after dinner I will go to the owlery and send Owls to the Beauxbatons, Salem Witch Institute, and Mahoutokro. However, having 8 schools would probably make things easier, what would you think about inviting Brazilian Wizarding School and the Academy of Broom Flying?” Bradley jotted down the schools, not really waiting for her reply. “I’m quite glad it was you that came and not Weasley, we are going to have to work very close with one another on this, and I’d much rather have your company than his.” Bradley smiled politely over at Ana, trying to show that he was being sincere.

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[ana]

Ana suppressed a laugh when Bradley went off about Percy. She had worked with him since she had gotten out of Hogwarts, and she had to admit, his description of working with him was certainly...apt. Percy was a rare bird, a loyalist in his actions, but very overwhelming at the same time. He would talk for hours about his Hogwarts days and it seemed to Ana that those were his glory days. She had been hired on as a member of the International Confederation of Wizards whereas Percy was a secretary for the first couple years of his office-dom. It was certainly an eye-opening experience, ”Then perhaps I would be the most heartily decorated of his co-workers.” She said vaguely and her smile disappeared completely. She wasn’t about to let on to Bradley that he was amusing her, even though that was most certainly the case, ”Are you so severe on your own housemates, Mr. Xavier? Perhaps you should have been a Slytherin.” Ana said cooly and then swirled her wine glass around as she stared at him intently. If he wanted to play games, then she could most certainly play.

Bradley tried to joke with her, but Ana’s face remained impassive. Of course it worked by magic...was he really that daft to think that it was funny? The more that he snickered like a school boy, the more she felt as if she was back at Hogwarts dealing with immature boys. It was pathetic, really. She wasn’t sure what to do with herself, so she opted to sit there until his laughter quieted, then she opened her mouth for her obvious rebuttal, ”But why here?” She asked, narrowing her eyes and leaning forward ever so slightly, ”What is it about Hogwarts that caused it to formulate such a room? If it was such common magic, they would be everywhere. But this is the only room of its kind that I’ve heard of to date.” There, now he couldn’t argue with her or offer her such an ambiguous answer again, her questions wouldn’t allow it. He was either going to have to provide her a legitimate response or nix the entire conversation all together.

Her ears perked up to something different in his tone of voice. She wasn’t sure what it was at first, but as she listened to him finish his sentence, she realized that his polite tone was beginning to fade. Was she getting to him? Or was it the other way around? She felt her fists clench underneath the table as she sat there staring at him, ”Snakes weren’t the only ones who made me this way, Xavier,” She had lost all her formalities for a moment. She just felt cold now...cold and angry. She remembered their faces when they had found her. The way that the rumors had circulated like wildfire through the school, burning her down to the core. She felt like she couldn’t trust anyone now. She was a freak. Forever branded by her abilities and forever outcasted into darkness, ”Ravens, Badgers, and especially those proud Lions were all a part of this.” She gestured at herself and then shook her head. Her fingertips ran up and down her arms, trying to comfort herself, but she kept feeling the scars. She kept being pulled back into the dangerous place in her mind where she had kept those memories. Why was this happening now?

Smart girl? Did Bradley actually think that she was smart? She bit down on her lip, listening to his explanation of House Elf mentality. She had to admit that even though he put up a good fight, she couldn’t agree with him. They were repulsive and she would always find them that way. Something about the way that they blindly followed put her on edge. She couldn’t imagine having to be that way and she hoped that she never would, ”Isn’t that the same thing, Bradley?” Ana dropped his last name this time, for some reason seeking to get on a more personal level with him. Perhaps this was worth talking about, however irrelevant to the conversation that she had initially come here for, ”Mindless dedication to a goal. They goals are to obey whatever their master commands. And so - in turn - they dedicated to their master. Simple transitive property.” She furrowed her brow slightly as she thought. They were repulsive to her, and yet, the Death Eaters, which she so closely aligned herself with, were the same way. They blindly threw themselves at Lord Voldemort’s feet during the war and she saw where that had gotten them. Tried for war crimes and exiled.

Ana had to admit that she didn’t know the first thing about Quidditch other than what Archer had told her. But she knew what the World Cup was and she knew that what they were suggesting was going to take a lot of time and a lot of planning. She tapped her quill on her parchment and then slid her hand back away from the page so that she could see more clearly what she had already written down. She wasn’t sure what to say when he said that he enjoyed her company more than Weasley’s...most people did. She wasn’t exactly the most agreeable on the IWC staff, but she was more tolerable than Percy. She cocked her head slightly to the side, knowing that she had probably gotten herself stuck with Bradley Xavier for a very long time if he requested her to stay on the project with him, ”Are you sure that you wouldn’t want someone a little more...well-versed in the area of Quidditch?” She asked, trying to throw him off the scent. She wasn’t sure that she could handle more than a couple of days with this...womanizer abomination. And yet, even though she was desperately trying to get out of planning the Cup, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She opened her mouth immediately and launched into another stream of consciousness sentence, ”A year is too long, for the record.” She countered and shook her head. She jotted down a few notes on her parchment and then looked up at Bradley, ”Mr. Xavier how would you feel about a summer-based Quidditch tournament? Hosted here at Hogwarts still...but for the Summer months. It would generate good revenue for Hogsmeade as well as providing the students a way to be better connected through the summer holiday months.” Ana thought that her idea sounded excellent and she slowly began outlining it on her parchment, ”Obviously, it couldn’t be mandatory because some students would have holiday with their parents, but we would encourage families to join us for the celebration-” She paused and then looked up at him, trying to get a read on what he was thinking.

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[BRADLEY PARKER XAVIER]

Bradley studied Ana’s face as she quickly dropped her smile, but he could see the line in her jaw, she was fighting it back and trying to suppress a laugh. His smile broadened slightly, he knew he was slowly getting to her, and seeing her smile was just so…rewarding. Bradley remembered her smile from before the incident, her smile was so sweet and beautiful. He had always enjoyed her smile, he found it to be infectious, the way it connected to her eyes and made them sparkle. Bradley’s eyes trailed up and down her jawline studying her features, they looked slightly more worn, they were filled with stress and tension; he wanted her to relax, to just let go and enjoy life. Bradley let out a hearty laugh, “If the sorting hat had made me a snake… I’d have burnt it to a crisp. But yes, I’m just as hard on all my house-mates; I tend to focus on what needs to be fixed rather than what’s working. I guess I’m a bit of a negative nancy.” Bradley shrugged and gave an apologetic smile.

Bradley shook his head, “Because this is Hogwarts. And Hogwarts’ Castle does what Hogwarts’ Castle wants to do.” He shook his head at Ana, almost in a belittling fashion, “Does Slytherin really not notice these things? This Castle… it’s got special traits. It’s why you-know-who wanted this place so bad. It’s why he wanted this as his foot-hold instead of the Ministry… Bradley’s voice dropped to a whisper before adding, “It’s what caused you to have your vision.” He felt terrible about bringing it up, but for some reason he wanted to talk to her about it. He wanted to explain to her why it had happened, Bradley wanted to console her after all of the torment she had been through.

He noticed the muscles in her shoulders start to tense, he assumed she was clinching her fists and he merely smiled back at her, trying to regain his composure , “But it wasn’t every snake, badger, raven or lion. Some of them were concerned about you… Some of them defended you. Even the Lions.” His eyes locked with hers, trying to show his compassion. He had defended her on a couple of occasions, he had even gotten into a fight with Terence Higgs that had turned rather bloody and put both of them in the hospital wing for the weekend and in detention for a month; it was so bad that it had almost gotten Bradley removed from the quidditch team. Most people assumed that the fight had started over the typical Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry, but the truth of the matter was that Terence had been mocking Ana by making blood leak from his wrist using his wand, and running around the courtyard begging for people’s attention. Bradley clinched his fists at the memory, still not letting it go.

Bradley tilted his head slightly as she used his actual name, he had told her countless times to call him ‘Bradley’ but she had always insisted on calling him Mr. Xavier, saying that only friends refer to each other on a first name basis. He smiled and shook his head at her, again. “No. You’re still only focusing on the end-result. It’s not the destination Ana, it’s the journey.” Bradley stood up and picked up the wine bottle, refilling his glass and then turning to her glass, and without asking, refilled it as well. “You are so focused on the end result, which is their blind loyalty. But look at how much they’re willing to endure to achieve their goal. Let’s put it into context, your goal is international wizarding cooperation… am I right?” Bradley nods his head, answering his own question to himself before continuing, “Of course it is. If you had their type of dedication you would be willing to do Anything to ensure that. You would even sacrifice yourself to achieve that by willingly risking physical harm to yourself. It’s quite noble, if I do say so myself.”

He smirked at Ana as she tried to find a way to get out of working with him on this project, it was pretty obvious what she was trying to do, “No. I know more than enough about quidditch for the both of us. I need someone that I can actually enjoy working with… that’s you.” Bradley offered her a warm smile, “Besides, it’s your idea, you deserve to get the end credit for it as well.”

Bradley listened to her idea and nodding enthusiastically, as he jotted down more notes, “Bloody Brilliant! A summer league would be perfect, it would help with the rebuilding of Hogsmeade as well as keep all of the kids in practice. We can host the intial tournament here, however I feel it would only be fair to have the tournament on a rotation so other schools can host it as well. Do you agree?” Bradley looked up from his notes, pausing for a moment waiting for confirmation from her.

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[ana]

Ana found herself gaping at Bradley for a very long time as she tried to figure out exactly what he was saying. It all made sense, the reason that Voldemort so desperately wanted the castle under his grasp. She had never even considered it before. She was about to say something about agreeing with him when the words hit her like a ton of bricks. Vision. She felt her blood run icy through her veins as she stared at him. ‘How dare he,’ She thought with a low internal growl. She wanted to slap him, right then and there. People knew better than to bring up her visions and what caused them. Everyone knew how sensitive she was about the whole thing. And here was bloody Bradley Xavier, not even an old friend, drudging up something that she was desperate to keep hidden in her past, ”You don’t know anything about my Visions, Xavier.” She said, her tone icy and flat. She refused to have this conversation with him. She refused to have this conversation with anyone. It was dangerous territory for all people involved. She felt her hands lace around her wrists where she could still feel the scars, ”They’re a curse. Not something to be proud of. I was cursed with them-” She could feel her voice raising until it was at a tone that was barely below a yell. Anastasia Grayson was angry for the first time in ages, legitimately angry, ”You know nothing about me. Or what made me the way that I am.” She slammed her wine glass down on the table and it shattered into tiny little pieces. Stunned, Ana could do nothing but stare at the broken glass shards that had lodged themselves into her hands.

”No one defended me.” She still ignored the pounding in her hand and the small shards that she could see in her fingertips, they weren’t important right now. What mattered was defending herself...defending herself against him, a man that had probably made fun of her with the rest of them back in the day, ”No one visited me in the hospital wing. And no one said anything but look at that freak.” Her tone was now low and soft, quite a contrast from the anger that she had been exhibiting earlier. She drew her hand across the table, wincing when some of the shards dug deeper. But she wouldn’t pull them out. She wouldn’t even let on that she was hurt, even though she knew that it was obvious. She saw him clench his fists and ignored him, her eyes drifting away. She didn’t want to look at him. She didn’t want to have to see his pity...or whatever he was trying to play. She had seen enough of Bradley Xavier to last her a lifetime, ”Reparo.” She muttered under her breath and the wine glass pulled itself together, removing the shards from her fingertips. There was still a bit of blood left on her hands, but it was nothing compared to what she had been through in her life. Nothing at all.

Nobility had nothing to do with it, Ana felt like shouting at him, but instead, she remained perfectly quiet, watching him expertly fill back up her wine glass and then retake his seat, ”I shouldn’t have to put myself in physical danger to achieve my goal, Mr. Xavier. The entire point of international wizarding cooperation is to avoid such wars and physical disputes.” She knew that she was being purposefully catty, but she just couldn’t help it. There was something about Bradley that irked her...She wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but she knew that it was unavoidable.

”Oh, Mr. Xavier, you will not enjoy working with me,” She said as she tucked another tendril of hair behind her ear. What was he thinking, assuming that this was going to be fun for the both of them? There was no way that anyone was going to have a fun time if they had to work together. Their ideals clashed...she couldn’t take him seriously, and she was in constant fear that he was going to bring it up again. It was ridiculous, the whole thing was. And yet, she didn’t say no. In fact, she wanted to say yes. She had never planned something so large scale and the success of it could only further her ministry career, ”But if you insist.” She finally agreed and stuck her hand out firmly so that they could shake on it. It was only fitting.

”I think that all depends,” Ana said quietly as he looked up at her, searching for some sort of confirmation. She bit down on her lip before drawing her finger across the line that he had just inked, smearing it slightly, ”In order for us to attain funding for a world-wide rotation of this Quidditch tournament-” She paused, lifting her finger and then staring down at the ink mark that was on the pad of her index finger, ”We would have to ensure that the first of these tournaments would be a success. And the only way to ensure that is to actually hold the function. Basically, no one will continue to fund something if they think that the product is sub-par. We need to make sure that this summer goes off without a hitch, then we can ask for subsequent funding from the ministry, correct?” She looked up into those eyes of his and offered him what best amounted to a smile, ”Positive publicity-” She paused mid-sentence, stood up, and dragged her chair to Bradley’s side of the table so that she could better see his notes, ”Is going to be key here, which means we have to make sure that Daily Prophet writers are informed well in advance of the Quidditch Tournament. Possibly offering them some sort of incentive might be a good way to draw positive feedback.” She mused as she sat down and placed her hand over Bradley’s on his quill. She moved it slightly so that their quill scratched something along the lines of ‘Reporter Incentives’. Realizing that they were touching, she pulled her hand away quickly and threw it back into her lap where it interlaced with her left hand.

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[BRADLEY PARKER XAVIER]

Bradley gaped as she smashed her glass with her hand, and stared at her hands as the blood slowly began to trickle from the shards. His smile dropped and he started to stand up, wantIng to rush over to her side, but the look in her eyes warned him to stay where he was. She wanted no contact with him, he knew it was best to stay where he was. He watched as the blood continued to trickle from her hand while she picked a few shards out from her fingertips.

“No one visited me in the hospital wing.”

“That’s not true.” BradLey looked into Ana’s eyes as he said it, slowly rising from his seat and walking around to kneel next to her, gently taking her hand and pulling out his wand. “Vulnera Sanetur” he muttered under his breath as the charm circled her hand, healing her gashes. He let his hands linger On her hand, his fingertips inspecting her hand, making sure it was ok. “They had you quarantined, afraid that people would try to harass you and find out about what happened. Or try to pump you for information about…uh… Him. They had you in the last bed on the left… with a curtain drawn around you. I watched Dumbledore cast the charm on it to prevent anyone from getting around it except for Madam Pomfrey and himself… I sent you a box of eVery Flavor Beans… Madam Pomfrey told me she was going to give them to you… I always assumed she had.” Bradley’s voice was low and sympathetic, filled with care and worry about Ana, as if her vision had just happened and they weren’t talking about something that had occurred several years ago. Bradley gave hEr hand one last inspection, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before placing it back on the table and walking back over to his chair.

“It’s not the point that You shouldn’t have to, there are lots of things that they do that they shouldn’t have to. The point is that they are willing to go to any lengths to achieve their goal. And I, for One, feel that is a trait that is admirable.” Bradley felt his frustration with Ana growing, she was incredulous, and being completely irrational about the whole thing. Bradley could feel his annoyance, but yet, coUld not help but smile at her despite it all.

Bradley smiled and took her hand, giving it a firm Shake, “I insist.” He said politely. Bradley knew how big of a deal this event would be, he knew that if they were able to puLl this off, that both of them would be on the short lists for some major promotions. This could potentialLy become the biggest thing in the historyY of Amateur quidditch, there was no way he could let her come up with the idea and not get credit for it.

Bradley smiled as she moved her chair around to his siDe of the table, he coUld tell that she was starting to get excited about this as well. “What were you thinking? As far as incentives go for the writers?” He asked quizzically, this part was her domain, not his. Bradley knew quidditCh, but outside of that he’d be lost. He felt her hand wrap around his, and he couldn’t contain his smile; her hands were so soft, and warm. Bradley felt an electricity coming off of her hand, he could feel it running up his arm, and spreading through his body. As she pulled it away, he frowned slightly at her before deciding to be just as bold and reaching down into her lap and plucKing her hand from her other hand and lifting it up to her own parchment, wrapping his hand around hers and returned the favor. As she wrote down, “Ministry funding.” He gave her a smile, “This part is simple, there are a bunch of former quidditch players in the ministry, and every one of them thinks their team or school has the best program. Therefore, we pitch this as a way to determine which school or house is actually the best, they’ll throw money at us.” Bradley smiled, he knew how to manipulate the system; it was the Gryffindor in him. Unlike Ana, he did let his hand linger over top of hers however, enjoying the small contact between the two of them.

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