Music Of The Night

Chapter Three

Hermione's POV

"And so, Alex decided the best thing for her was to attend the Ball with Luna Lovegood, a good friend of ours, to stop the many young boys trying to win her hand and ask her. The looks on their faces when she turned up in a stylish dress robes and suit, with Luna on her arm was priceless." I was saying, laughing at my memory of the Yule Ball in my forth year at Hogwarts.

Hadley laughed. "She must have been the talk of the night, turning up with a woman. Is it accepted, in your time? You know, same-sex couples?"

I nodded. "Oh yes…though Luna and Alex only played the role, but same sex couples are accepted. Seamus Finngan, who we all thought was straight given the girls he fooled around with at school, his soulmate turned out to be a male. We accepted it, because why does it matter whether or not you love a male or female? It's your choice, whether you're gay or straight or whatever. And for some reason, fate always seems to know…"

"I see and I agree. The world would be a matter better place if people just accepted your reasoning. So, you've rescued and rode a dragon, broke a criminal out of jail, and got yourself turned into a cat. That is more than I have done in my lifetime." Hadley remarked. "All I do is act and sing. Never would you see me near a dragon…it's strange, knowing that dragons actually exist."

"They are majestic creatures…and so misunderstood, given that everyone seems to think they are fire-breathing demons." I said.

"But don't they breathe fire?" Hadley asked.

"Yes…but only when provoked. Given the proper care and training, they are quite gentle creatures, at least that's what Charlie Weasley always says…Norbet, the dragon I was telling you about, well he's like a giant puppy dog once you've showed him respect and given him a large slab of meat." I told him.

Hadley frowned, shocked at me calling a dragon a giant puppy. He laughed in disbelief, but leant forwards on the table we were sitting at. He grabbed the glass of wine sitting in front of him, and took a sip. I did the same with my glass, and then went back to my meal of chicken & cashew with fried rice.

We were at his flat in downtown London, just a few blocks away from the Hall. After our conversation at the Hall, we had decided to head to his apartment, walking the entire way there to his two-level flat in the suburban streets of London. Along the way, whilst talking about our younger years, the sun had gone down and by the time we had reached his flat it was dark.

His flat was comfy, the colours of grey and black stylising the flat which consisted of a large lounge room, a spacious kitchen with a large island in the middle and a glass table between the kitchen and lounge room. Upstairs I had not seen yet, but I would think it would be the same colours as downstairs. Though, along with the modernise flat, musical themes were spread out through the flat. Posters of Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera was hung on the walls, photos of him in various characters and with other people on the shelves including photos of him with Ramin.

We had decided to have tea deciding on Chinese food and so he ordered the food to be delivered to his door. After setting up the table, we had continued with stories of our past, and I found out more than I ever could. By now, he knew most of my funny childhood stories with Alex, my disastrous engagement with Ron and I knew about his life as a stage actor, his career in singing, how he met Ramin and how he got into musical theatre. I enjoyed hearing his stories, and he enjoyed hearing the funny adventures that Alex and I had gotten into when we were younger. What he didn't know about, was the bad times…the war, the torture that Alex and I endured, and the nightmares.