The Wrong Time

Instincts Betrayed

Ms. Drew,

I am truly amazed at the progress you have made. No one on record has come as close to finding the cure as you have. I am enclosing a two way radio so that we can communicate a little more directly. Speak my name into the receiver when it reaches you.

Sincerely,

Silvano


Silvano had been completely floored when he examined the potion. He tested it on a niffler and it worked as a permanent Wolfsbane potion. He was eager to speak with the mystery woman and discuss plans for furthering the potion.


He had already extracted the elements of the potion and recreated it. He hoped that perhaps they could find the answer. It was a shame she lived in Ottery St. Catchpole. It would be much easier if they could work side by side.


Is that really what you want? he asked himself, taken aback. She is from your past. Do not forget that, he reminded himself.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Hermione picked at her dinner. Molly and Arthur still had Josiah, and she expected they would return him to her in the morning. Ron was gone again. That was no surprise of course. She pushed her plate away. She suddenly felt no desire to eat, or do anything besides crawl into a very dark hole.


She was pulled from her reverie when Eros dropped a small parcel on her lap. Her face lit up when she realized it was a response from Silvano. She tore open the package and examined the radio.


She held it tentatively to her lips after tapping it with her wand to activate it.


“H-hello?” she said shakily. “Mr. Scolari?”


“Yes, Ms. Drew?” a distorted voice came over the radio.


Hermione was a little taken aback by the strangeness of the voice, but then remembered that Silvano liked his privacy.


“Y-yes, this is Nancy Drew,” Hermione said with a smile.


It was difficult to refer to herself that way with a straight face.


“Your potion is truly amazing,” he said, causing Hermione to blush.


“Thank you, Mr. Scolari,” Hermione replied.


“I think under the circumstances, it would be appropriate for you to call me Silvano,” he said.


“Thank you, Silvano. You may call me Nancy if you like,” she replied, grinning.


“So you’re a fan of Muggle literature, then?” Silvano asked, with a chuckle.


“Hahahahaha. Well, to be honest, it was the first name that popped into my head,” Hermione said.


“I have broken the potion down into single ingredients and reproduced it,” Silvano said. “Hopefully, using this, we can try to come up with the solution together.”


“That would be wonderful,” Hermione said, relieved.


So her potion was not a lost cause after all.


“I confess, it would be much simpler if we were working together in person, but I daresay your husband would not permit you to travel to Italy on a regular basis,” Silvano said with a bit of a chuckle.


“I doubt he would notice, to be quite frank,” Hermione said, face reddening.


There was silence for a few minutes.


“Nancy, have I offended you?” Silvano asked, feeling a little embarrassed.


“No, actually. I must say, I find it rather unsettling how comfortable it is to talk to you,” she said, hoping she had not gone too far.


Silvano’s face reddened slightly. He felt as though he were watching himself, unable to control what he was saying.


“Why is that?” he asked her.


“I suppose because I have no idea who you are, and you have no idea who I am, so it makes it easier to be raw, to be frank and honest. I don’t have to face you. I don’t have worry about you telling my husband things, or his meddlesome mother,” Hermione said, her face growing hot.


She willed herself to stop, before she made a complete fool of herself and ruined the whole arrangement.


“Well, Nancy, I find that I can be quite insightful,” Silvano said, though in his head he was screaming to run away, to get out while he still could. “If you would like a willing ear, I can be that ear,” he finished, feeling like an absolute moron.


“Thank you, Silvano,” Hermione said, feeling at ease for the first time in five years.


A/N: Thank you all for reading and the reviews are just fattening up my muse! Keep them coming!