Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

Incredible beta for this story: MrBenzedrine

If you haven't read chapter 2, go read that first! The website did not send out notifications.

Chapter 3: It's Gonna Be So Easy

Hermione stared at the blank parchment in front of her and blew out a breath of frustration. She'd arrived at work (on time) and cleared her schedule for the day to focus on starting her presentation for the potions conference. She had only three months to come up with a presentation that would last an hour and that wouldn't bore the attendees to death. She opened a desk drawer and rifled through the papers lined up neatly in folders until she found her notes on the respibene potion. She dipped her quill in the inkwell and began listing out the major topics she intended to cover in her talk.

An hour later, Astoria knocked at her door and smiled widely at her through the little window. Hermione waved her in, setting her quill in its stand. Astoria walked in and closed the door behind her. Stopping in front of the chair across from Hermione's desk, she picked up the fat cat sleeping on it. "Hello, Nyxie-poo," she cooed in a high-pitched voice. "You're so pretty today, aren't you darling boy?" She smothered the top of his head with kisses and squeezed him to her. "You must have caught a lot of mice this morning to be sleeping so early- OW!" She pulled him away from her and held him up in front of her. "You wanker, it's not nice to bite my finger." He meowed sullenly and wiggled his legs to be put down. She knelt and set him gently on the floor. "Ugh, I still love you, you shit."

Hermione laughed and watched the cat saunter over to the bookshelf to climb up to sleep at the very top. "He never bites me, you know. Probably because I don't cuddle him to death."

Astoria smiled and took a seat. "He's just so soft and squishy. I can't help myself."

"You came at a good time; I was coming to a dead-end in this presentation and needed a break. How was your weekend?"

"Oh, it was pretty great. Ran a bunch of errands and spent a massive amount of time lying on my couch and reading. How about yours; do anything interesting?"

Hermione shrugged and leaned back in her chair. "Not really, it was about the same as yours. Ran some errands and went over to the Weasleys for dinner on Sunday night."

"You didn't read anything stimulating, maybe? Something with lots of pictures?"

"Damn it, Ginny, I knew she was going to tell you!" said Hermione with an embarrassed laugh.

Astoria laughed with her. "Of course she told me. We're trying to get you laid, and every little bit helps. Now, how was it? Did it spark any amorous desires deep within your chest?"

"Ew, no. It was definitely not stimulating. In fact, I was very distracted looking through it. Honestly, what kind of man will pose for a picture with his legs behind his ears while not wearing a stitch of clothing? I did not need to see that; I did not want to see that; no one should ever have to look at that."

Astoria doubled over with laughter, clutching the edge of the desk. "Oh, my God, Hermione. That is too much. I've got to admit, I would also definitely not want to look at that image. It sounds terrible."

"It's seared into my brain. I'll be seeing that man's bumhole in my nightmares, I know it."

Tears started to form in Astoria's eyes as she started laughing hysterically. "Please, please, tell me the next time you read one of those magazines, because I'd love to sit with you and hear your critique."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I would never. I could barely look through it on my own in the privacy of my bedroom. I appreciate the help you and Ginny are offering, but it's just too awkward for me to continue down this path. You two are my dear friends, and I just don't know if I'll be able to look you in the eyes if you help me overcome my, uh, sexual inhibitions."

"Oh, poo. Well, we'll be around to help if you change your mind and decide you need us to seduce Eli."

"Duly noted. Now, I'm going to change the topic, and you better not come back to it. Are you going to Eva's thing on Saturday?"

Astoria's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Wait, how did you know about the party?"

"She owled me Saturday and invited me. Why? Don't you want me to go?"

"No, of course I want you to go!" she protested. "It's just that, I, uh, sort of invited Draco to come along." She sighed at Hermione's look of surprise. "I didn't know Eva was going to invite anyone besides our own team. I would've never invited him if I knew you'd be there. I never want to put you through an uncomfortable situation, because I know he was terrible to you, and I just…"

"It's alright, it's alright. Don't worry about it. Don't put yourself out because of me. I've grown up and can handle a few hours with him. I can be very civil if he is, too."

"Oh, Hermione, you're the best! I know he can be civil. Now, I know that I really don't speak about him around you, but I've got to tell you he's changed so much since Hogwarts."

"Yeah?"

"I don't know if you know this, but when he decided to go to art school in Italy, his parents disowned him. He hasn't spoken to them in four years."

Hermione's brows shot up. "Really?"

"Yes, and he's actually humble now, if you'd believe it. Well, I mean, he's as humble as a Malfoy could possibly get. When he moved to Italy, he shared a dormitory with a half-blood, and he still writes to him every so often. Apparently, they both shared the same interests in art and got along quite well. He's also living quite close to poverty, I think. He won't tell me much, but I know his parents cut him off financially, so he's been living off what he'd saved before leaving. He's having a hard time finding a job, too, so I know he has no income coming in, and he's too proud to accept any money from me, so I usually leave a few galleons in some of his pants' pockets whenever I can so that he thinks he's just forgotten them."

This news was stunning. Hermione never would have guessed Draco would be brought so low. A struggling artist? Draco? "Why is he marrying you if he can't afford to start a life with you?"

"Well, that's the thing. If he marries me, his parents will welcome him back into the family, so he basically jumped at the offer. I know he misses them, and he doesn't care much about the money; I think he's quite lonely. Most of his friends abandoned him after the war, and especially after he moved to Italy to pursue art. I invited him to come to Eva's party so he can get out and socialize, you know?"

"This is just so surprising; the opposite of how I thought he turned out."

"You don't know how happy I am that you're willing to be around him for a few hours, because that brings me to something I've been meaning to ask you for a while now." Astoria reached out and grabbed Hermione's hand. "Will you be a bridesmaid for my wedding? I had to ask Daphne to be my maid of honor since she's my sister, and she's designing my wedding dress, so I don't want to piss her off, or I'll end up wearing a potato sack. Now that I know you are willing to tolerate Draco for a few hours, you can definitely be in the wedding."

Hermione waited for Astoria to finish rambling and squeezed her hand. "I would love nothing more than to be one of your bridesmaids. I'm honored."

Astoria jumped up and, with a slight squeal, ran around the desk to grab Hermione into a tight hug. "Oh, I'm so excited! I love you so much and was tortured by the fact that you might not come to the wedding because of the Malfoys."

"I would tolerate an evening with every Death Eater from here to the moon to stand up beside you at your wedding. You're more important than any ill-feeling I have towards the Malfoy family."

"You're going to make me cry if you don't quit it," Astoria replied. "Okay, this is so great, yay! I do have to run, though; I've got to prepare my notes for our meeting at St. Mungo's this afternoon. Meet me in the lobby and we can Apparate together?"

"Sounds like a plan," said Hermione. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Staring at the blank canvas in front of him, Draco cursed again and ran his paint-stained hand down his face. He picked up his charcoal piece once more, wondering what on earth he could even begin to sketch.

His studio, if one could call it that, was the attic of his house. He'd installed windows and a sun light into the roof to achieve the best possible lighting. Candles were also lit around the room to provide the illumination he would need.

He touched the charcoal to the canvas and began sweeping it down in broad strokes to create the outline of… well, he didn't know what. A vase? A vase filled with flowers?

Fuck, might as well paint a bowl filled with fruit. What's wrong with you? Sketch something real.

The sketch began to take shape as a vase, damn it, and he forged through, trying to give it some sort of meaning or depth. After roughly fifteen minutes or so, he stepped back and looked at what he'd drawn.

"Why'd you draw an empty vase?" a voice from behind spoke.

Draco sighed and turned to face his housemate, Deepak. "Because I'm a talentless hack?" he explained.

Deepak laughed and stepped further into the room, his dark hair and eyes gleaming in the sunlight. "You and I both know that's not true. It's a beautiful vase, but it's got no passion behind it."

"Don't you think I know that?" Draco huffed. "I've got to tell Guillame, next week, what I've got planned for the exhibit, and all I have so far is a fucking vase. It isn't even filled with anything, just a vase." He picked up the charcoal piece once more and made quick slashes to the drawing until the vase was now shaped like a penis. "Enough passion for you?"

"Ha-ha, very funny," said Deepak, his mouth betraying his sarcasm with an amused smile. "You never seemed to have many issues before this. You always created beautiful images."

Draco pulled his wand out and erased the sketch from the canvas. "I've lost my muse; it's as simple as that. The pressure is on to create something phenomenal, and of course, as usual, I'll cave under the pressure and have only myself to blame. I'm honestly out of ideas."

Deepak leaned against the sturdy table that housed all of Draco's paints and brushes. "Well, you've got to start at the beginning. You need to create ten pieces for this showing, so would you like to present ten separate pieces that share a common theme, or would you like to have ten paintings that tell a story, or ten pieces that have absolutely nothing to do with each other but that will make the viewers think there's a common thread?"

"I honestly don't know."

Deepak gave him a sympathetic look. "Well, mate, you might think you'll crack under the pressure, but you're the best painter I've seen in years. Who knows? You might find your muse when and where you least expect it."

Astoria and Hermione arrived at St. Mungo's and discussed their notes as they walked into the building. They signed in and grabbed name badges before heading to the conference room they usually met in. Four of their respective team members were already in the room along with Healer Camellia Estelle and her group of Healers.

"Neville!" Hermione exclaimed, catching sight of her old schoolmate in the group. Astoria watched her friend stride over to where a tall man with a handsome face stood, dressed in Healer's robes and carrying several scrolls of parchment. She had never seen this particular Healer in their meetings before and had never heard Hermione mention his name before. His face was lean and shadowed with stubble, his eyes soft and hazel, his hair dark and styled neatly. She looked away when his eyes met hers while he gave Hermione a brief hug. A moment later, she saw Hermione wave her over to where they stood.

"Astoria, you must meet my friend, Neville." She put an arm around Astoria and dragged her closer. She introduced them, and they exchanged a polite handshake.

Astoria felt a quick jolt of… something. She smiled slightly and murmured, "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he replied, his voice deep and quiet.

"Astoria, I know you were interested in incorporating more magical plants in medicinal potions, and Neville here is a big Herbology buff," Hermione explained.

Buff, indeed. Quite, quite buff.

"That's so interesting, I look forward to sharing some ideas during the meeting," she said, hoping her voice wasn't as squeaky as she imagined. What was wrong with her? She'd seen plenty of handsome men, encountered them all the time. Why was this handsome man, dressed in distinguished Healer robes, so different from the rest? She was engaged to Draco, for heaven's sake!

"I haven't seen you in so long - probably since Harry's party last year. Where have you been hiding?" Hermione asked.

"I just finished a fellowship in Dublin, so I was there for about a year and didn't get to come home often. I've missed the group. How is everyone doing?"

Hermione began telling him all about their mutual friends, and Astoria took the chance to study him up close. He really was quite handsome. His mouth was quick to smile, and she was a sucker for facial hair on a man. Draco kept a constant blond stubble on his face, most likely because he couldn't afford razors and shaving soap and not out of any need to please her. When Neville looked at Hermione, she could see a warmness in his gaze, a kindness not found in many people.

"Everyone, let's go ahead and get started," Healer Estelle called out from the head of the room. "If you could take your seats, we'll get right into it." She pulled out her wand when everyone sat down and dimmed the lights in the room. The wand was then turned toward a blank wall on the opposite side of the room and a screen appeared, listing out the agenda for the meeting. "Before we begin, I'd like everyone to go around the table and introduce themselves as we have a few new faces in the room." She pointed to the Healer on her right side.

Astoria sat through the introductions, taking note to remember the names of the two new Healers sitting next to Healer Estelle. It slightly disconcerted her to see that Neville had chosen the seat directly across from hers. They looked at each for a brief moment before he smiled shyly and looked away. His turn was up next.

"Hullo, everyone. My name is Neville Longbottom, and I have just finished a fellowship under Healer O'Casey in the Department of Neurohealing. I spent a year with him at the Draípidéal Magical Hospital. I look forward to working with this group, as I've written several dissertations on the use of plants in the use of healing potions."

He was so soft-spoken, yet he compelled Astoria with his deep voice and the lines fanning out from his eyes that indicated he smiled and laughed often. In a matter of minutes, it was her turn to introduce herself. "Um, hi, I'm Astoria Greengrass, and I am the team leader for the Artephius Team at Materia Medica. Our team is responsible for developing new potions and spells for magical diseases and disorders." She purposely kept her gaze far from the handsome man across from her, or her words would have come out in a jumble.

Hermione spoke beside her, thankfully distracting her from her errant thoughts. "Good afternoon, I'm Hermione Granger, and I am the team leader for the Fulcanelli Team at Materia. Our team handles the improvement and enhancement of established potions and spells already in circulation."

The meeting went by slowly, and Astoria forced herself to keep focus on Healer Estelle's presentation on the ongoing clinical trials for the potions recently completed.

"We have begun the clinical trials on the appolitis potion; thank you to Ms. Greengrass and her team for their endless efforts. The first round's results should be available by our next meeting, which I will schedule a month from now. With the appolitis finally through with development, we have a proposal for a project we're excited to start. Healer Longbottom, if you will, can you please share with the group your proposal?" Healer Estelle smiled at Neville.

He cleared his throat, and his eyes met Astoria's again. Maybe if she stopped looking at him, she wouldn't notice him looking at her? Either way, something in her stomach kept clenching when hazel met green.

"I've put forth a hypothesis on the properties of salvia officinalis, most commonly known as 'sage' in the muggle world. This plant tends to harbor carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid, which can be used to slow the progression of injury to the brain. Now, certain tribes of muggles have used it to slow the loss of memory in the elderly population, but if we can harvest the different acids and marry them to the magical plants we have at our disposal, we could possibly find ourselves looking at a cure for the loss of brain matter in the temporal and frontal lobes of patients who have suffered the effects of the cruciatus curse," his voice wobbled for a moment on the last word. "The way the plant is structured, though, would only allow for a possible cure if the victim of the curse is administered the potion within 6 hours of the event occurring. This could be a tremendous breakthrough in neurohealing, and I believe the experts at Materia can make it happen."

"Thank you, Healer Longbottom, I am more excited than I can say about this proposal. This could put English Magic healing and potioneering at the top of the field if the Artephius Team is up for the challenge. What say you, Miss Greengrass? Can we count on your team to help us?"

Astoria blinked several times, her mind spinning with the information Neville had shared. She'd never, in her education or career, thought to utilize salvia officinalis towards neurohealing, despite the fact that she used it in multiple potions. A frisson of excitement burned her gut, and she smiled widely. "On behalf of Team Artephius and Materia Medica, I accept the project put before us and look forward to our collaboration."

Healer Estelle clapped her hands together once. "Perfect! I'll leave the details in your capable hands, and as this was the brainchild of Healer Longbottom, I'll be assigning him as the medical liaison. You can set up a schedule to meet with him to begin development, and I'll make sure it does not conflict with his duties at the hospital. If everyone is in agreement, I believe we can conclude the meeting on a very high note. Thank you all for your participation."

With a swallow that seemed to be thicker than usual, Astoria stood from her chair and smiled at Neville. "Looks like we'll be working together."

"Looks like it. Can you stay a moment so that we can figure out the times I can be available to go over the specifics? It shouldn't take more than a moment."

Astoria glanced over to Hermione's chair, which was empty. Astoria spotted her speaking to Healer Estelle. She turned back to Neville. "That sounds like a plan."

He handed her a piece of parchment with what looked like a grid. "These are my shifts this week at the hospital. I can probably meet Wednesday morning at the lab. Would that work for you?"

One-on-one time with the handsome man? Uh, don't forget, you're ENGAGED. "Oh, yes, that works perfectly."