In Broken Time

Chapter 19

After work, Hermione pratically ran around Diagon Alley searching not only for an intense sleeping draught – which she decided would be too expensive and time consuming to make by herself – but a dress for her evening date with Tom as well. 

She bought two sleeping draughts from a shady potions shop in Knockturn Alley and prayed they weren't spiked with anything fatal. Along with the draughts, she purchased only one antidote. As for the dress, she finally settled on a deep red off-shoulder dress that reached a little below her knees and flared out a little. She'd thought it would be nice to represent Gryffindor – the house where she truly belonged with Harry and Ron. Along with the dress she purchased a nice pair of black pumps and transfigured a quill into an emerald necklace, adding to her rather classic look. 

Tom was already standing outside Hermione's room, despite being ten minutes early. He was dressed surprisingly formal in a striking black suit. Hermione herself was dressed quite nicely especially after frantically running around Diagon Alley to find something suitable to wear other than the clothes she wore to work. Hermione pocketed a small vial and pinned back one side of her lightly smoothed out curls.

"You look very dapper." Hermione commented, as Tom looked her over. She noticed his eyes snagging onto her emerald for a second, before he nodded his head in greeting, and offered his arm to her. "You don't clean up too bad either Black." He replied, sweeping a hand through his impeccably perfect hair. Hermione shrugged and latched onto his offered arm. They said nothing when he took her to a surprisingly nice looking restaurant deep in Diagon Alley. He led her to a dimly lit small booth located at the side of the restaurant. They sat down and made pleasant conversation before the waiter came around and asked for their orders. Hermione found that his name was Christopher after eyeing his nametag. As the special sleeping draught she had made was clear, Hermione made sure to order white wine. After the Christopher left, Hermione's eyes followed his way down a narrow corridor at the very back of the restaurant, before making a right into the kitchen to deliver their order.

"Uh...Sorry Tom, but I think I need to go to the bathroom really quick. I'll be back soon. I'm just not feeling too well in the stomach." Without even looking at his reaction, she left.

Hermione hurriedly made her way to the bathroom and cast the disillusionment charm and Silencio on herself. Then she ran towards the corridor and waited there for Christopher to deliver their white wine. Internally Hermione prayed that her spells would last long enough to pour her sleeping draught into one of the wines. Thankfully, it only took a minute for the newly familiar head of curly brown hair to appear with two glasses of white wine. As he went around the bend, Hermione kicked the wall. Christopher's head instinctively looked towards the wall she kicked and cocked his head in wonder, just as she hoped. She popped off the lid of her sleeping draught and poured it into the glass of wine on held in his right hand, which would be delivered to Tom. Hermione waited until she saw Christopher deliver the beverages before hastily running back to the bathroom and cast a Finite on herself to counteract the disillusionment and silencing charms. She left the bathroom feeling rather relieved and pleased by herself.

Hermione joined Tom again with a pained look on her face and an arm over her stomach. The sleeping draught would kick in after approximately ten minutes, so she must have both of them out of the restaurant by then. Tom eyed her and lifted his brow. "Feeling better?" Hermione gave him a small, pained-looking smile. "Yes. I've just got a bit of um...a stomach ache," Hermione eyed the white wine glasses and saw the faint glimmer of the sleeping draught in Tom's glass. "I'm not sure if I'll make it through the whole dinner though, I'm afraid. But that doesn't mean I'll try." Hermione lifted her wine glass up in cheers to which Tom met her with and she watched Tom drink from his glass before drinking from her own. Half was gone, but she needed him to drink it all. "I think that we should make a toast to ourselves," Hermione suggested. "Congratulations to ourselves for surviving in probably the shadiest shop in London. Maybe even the world." She held her wine up for the second time that night. "Cheers to that." Thankfully, Tom clinked his glass with hers and drank the remainder of the wine.

Hermione waited another two minutes before she dramatically coughed and groaned, seemingly in pain. "Tom, I think we should go... I don't feel very good..." Hermione grumbled.
"Allow me." Tom offered his arm again to her and went to the front counter of the restaurant to pay for the food. They were walking down Diagon Alley before he started swaying. Hermione kept him upright as much as he could before he fell to the floor with a loud thud. Hermione immediately grabbed onto his suit and apparated him to the Leaky Cauldron.

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