greengrassgrowths:
Of Roses and Scorpions
LOCATION: Rosemary House Tea Shoppe, Diagon Alley @ministerhgranger
Astoria ought to have been more conscious of her privileged position; it wasn’t just anyone who could secure a last-minute meeting over tea with the Minister of Magic, after all! But Astoria didn’t think about it that way; she wasn’t vying for political influence, after all – she was just here to talk about their children. And since there was nothing more important in Astoria’s life than her precious Scorpius, it simply never occurred to her that a witch who had the entire British magical community to run might not have as easy as time as she did of dropping everything to gossip about their offspring.
Besides, they’d started these little chats before Hermione ascended to the highest office in the land. The fact that things were different for the other witch now was an idea that had yet to cross Astoria’s mind.
So when the Minister of Magic walked in to join Astoria at their usual table in the quiet corner of the Rosemary House, Astoria greeted her with a warm and guileless smile. Yes, things could still sometimes get a bit awkward between the two of them – there was a lot of bad blood under their shared bridges, most of it on the side of Astoria’s in-laws – but the three years in which their children had been friends had tempered some of the harsher edges between them, and while Astoria wasn’t yet sure if Hermione counted her as a friend, she was happy to consider the other witch…well, something like a friend, certainly.
They had mutual interests, after all.
“Hermione!” Astoria said, putting down the list of today’s tea blends to greet the other witch. “I’m so glad you could join me – it’s a lovely day for a cup of tea, isn’t it?” The drizzly weather certainly suited the hot, restorative beverage…even if the tea was more of an excuse than a cause, today. “And perhaps a bit of chit-chat from Hogwarts,” she added slyly.
Hermione had a few guilty pleasures-- a square of dark chocolate before bed, a cheesy romance hidden among her stack of more serious books-- but her biggest guilty pleasure of all had to be her meetings with Astoria.
It had started off as simply a way to keep tabs on her daughter, her darling Rose. Rose and Scorpius had hit it off in a way their parents had never even come close to. And like most parents, Hermione was eager for any scrap of news about her child’s life-- and equally as left in the dark as said child grew older. But together, she and Astoria could piece together the facts of their lives-- or at the very least an outline more solid than they vague one they received in letters.
Plus, if Hermione was being truly honest with herself, it felt good to just do something so lighthearted, so almost frivolous, every once in awhile. Not that Hermione didn’t take these conversations completely seriously, of course.
Her grin met Astoria’s as she entered their usual tea shop, amazed at how quickly she had come to like this woman. It was far from perfect-- too many bad memories lurking in the shadows-- but there was a warmth there that Hermione never would’ve expected. Some days, she felt rather sad that they hadn’t found a way to be friends at school.
“Astoria,” she returned warmly, giving her hand a squeeze. “It’s good to see you, and even better to be out of the rain.” She shed her coat, and settled into the seat opposite Astoria. “Not to mention I needed an excuse to get away from the office for a minute. I’ve spent half my nights there this week, I’m sure of it.” She shook her head ruefully. “How are you? Have you had a letter? Rose hasn’t written in over three weeks, but I don’t want to nag.”
