InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Just doodling...uh uh uh."

the other mrs weasley (inkandquill) wrote in thegossipwitch,
@ 2009-02-28 00:03:00

Who: Hermione Granger and Lavender Brown.
What: Random run-in.
Where: Diagon Alley.
When: Friday the 27th Feb.
Status: Incomplete.

Hermione was supposed to only be making a quick trip to Gringotts; after all, she was on work time. But somehow she managed to distract herself at the window of the Magical Menagerie, then Flourish and Blotts, and now she was currently occupied with the fascinating bits and pieces in the window of the Apothecary. If she was honest with herself, Hermione may have somewhere along the line admitted that she was stalling. Her job wasn't exactly all that she hoped it to be, each day growing steadily more tedious than the last. And having been given a short reprieve from the monotony of her office, she wasn't really in any great hurry to get back.

Wrinkling her nose as a dark-haired witch dumped a bunch of something that looked suspiciously like birds feet in the shop window, Hermione turned to continue her way down the street, eyes widening in surprise as a familiar face appeared from the doorway in front of her. "Lavender?"

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blondbeauty
2009-02-27 12:48 pm UTC (link)

Lavender stepped out from the Miss Witch building, intent on escaping the busy offices for at least an hour to get something to eat. Her pale purple robes billowed around her in the cool breeze, and her heels clicked against the small stone steps as she moved down the stairs and right into the path of Hermione Granger. Her eyes flared slightly in surprise, but then Lavender smiled politely. "Hermione! What a surprise!"

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inkandquill
2009-02-27 11:32 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't entirely clear whether Lavender considered it a good surprise or a bad one; or perhaps it was neither and she was just indifferent. But despite their issues over the years, Hermione was still relatively pleased to see someone from school - and Gryffindor nonetheless - even someone she hadn't been particularly close to. Returning Lavender's smile, Hermione gave a small nod. "Yes, quite. I feel like I haven't seen you in years. How are you?"

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	blondbeauty 2009-02-28 11:06 am UTC (link)
	"I'm smashing, actually." Lavender grinned as she adjusted her hold on her silver handbag. She nodded behind her, to the white building where purple letters spelled out over the doorway 'Miss Witch Magazine', and said proudly, "Started my own magazine. How about you?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

inkandquill
2009-02-28 07:34 pm UTC (link)

Hermione followed Lavender's gesture, her eyeline rising a little to take in the 'Miss Witch Magazine' above the door. "That's wonderful." She hadn't actually heard of Miss Witch Magazine, but then again Hermione lived in her own little bubble a lot of the time. Pausing, she gave a small shrug when Lavender in turn asked how she was. "I'm good actually. Just working at the Ministry at the moment, nothing terribly exciting."

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	blondbeauty 2009-02-28 09:17 pm UTC (link)
	"It is, isn't it?" There was no hint of bragging in Lavender's voice, only pride as she smiled up at the building that held the magazine she'd created with love. Turning her attention back to Hermione, she said, "Where in the Ministry do you work?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	inkandquill 2009-03-01 04:46 am UTC (link)
	"Oh. I'm part of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures." Giving a small smile, she shrugged lightly. It sounded boring even to her ears. "How long have you had the magazine?" she then asked. Hermione was honestly curious as to how Lavender had ended up where she did. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

blondbeauty
2009-03-01 11:39 am UTC (link)

"Do you enjoy it there?" Lavender asked curiously, sensing that perhaps Hermione didn't from the tone in her voice. In response to her question, Lavender's eyes lit up again. "Since last August. I used to work at Witch Weekly and had a column there called 'Ask Lavender'. But I was flipping through the magazine one day, and I realised that half the articles didn't even interest me, because they were aimed to a much older age group. That, combined with the fact I felt my superiors were trying to push me to focus on an older age group in my column led me to realise that there was a huge gap in the market." She grinned. "So I decided to take advantage of it."

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inkandquill
2009-03-02 10:27 pm UTC (link)

Did she enjoy it? The short answer was no, but there was more to it than that and Hermione wasn't about to admit to Lavender that she hated her job at the Ministry of all places. So she dodged the question. "It's very interesting," she said decidedly, nodding for emphasis.

"Oh!" Hermione's eyes lit up in recognition as Lavender then mentioned her previous column in Witch Weekly. "I do remember seeing that actually. Ginny used to point it out to me, usually to make fun of the poor person asking for advice." Hermione punctuated that with an eye roll at the memory. "Well, either way I'm glad you found something you like doing so much. The magazine sounds like it's quite successful then."

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blondbeauty
2009-03-02 10:30 pm UTC (link)

Lavender raised an eyebrow at the clear avoidance of the question. She opened her mouth to comment on it, but then decided not to push it. Instead, she said, "Oh, well that's nice, then." She paused for a moment, and then said without thinking, "Doesn't Ron work at the Ministry too? And Harry? Must be nice to have your friends around."

A giggle escaped Lavender at the mention of Ginny making fun of the people in her column. "Yeah, well, some of them sure were a bit off. But as much as I loved writing that column, I love having my own magazine even more."

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inkandquill
2009-03-02 10:37 pm UTC (link)

Hermione could feel her cheeks heat up as Lavender mentioned Ron. It may have been a long time ago, but sixth year was still somewhat of a sticking point with Hermione and it made her feel a little awkward. "Yes, he does. I mean, they both do," she corrected herself as Lavender continued. "It is nice having them there I suppose, though they're usually out of the office more than they're in it. Harry especially."

A small smile appeared on Hermione's face as Lavender giggled. From that, she could just imagine the caliber of the letters that didn't get published. Interesting to say the least. "I imagine you would. Having creative control over everything would be just perfect."

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blondbeauty
2009-03-03 11:05 am UTC (link)

Lavender caught sight of the flush on Hermione's cheeks and flinched inwardly. She'd spoken without thinking of the awkwardness between the two of them regarding Ron, but there was nothing she could do about it now. "Yes, I expect they'd both be busy as Aurors, especially Harry."

She nodded. "Yes, I do like having creative control. Of course, I give my staff a certain about of leeway to exercise their own creativity, but the final word is always mine." She smiled. "It's fun, definitely."

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