Work Text:
“So, has this happened before?”
Hermione rolls her eyes at the man who’s taken up residence at her workstation. He can’t see it, however, since he’s looking at her monitor, not at her. She likes to think she’d do it even if he could see — see her disdain for the machine which she’d prefer to pitch out the window along with the man who claims he’s come to “fix” it for her. As if anyone can make these blasted things work properly. It’s all a waste of time, running yet another diagnostic, trying to figure out what exactly ate her file… today. And to be honest, she doesn’t care. She just needs to get back to work.
“I’m on deadline,” she explains for the third time. “Just find the file, please. And try to convince that thing to work with me, not against me.”
He laughs as he taps a few keys. “You make it sound as if it’s sentient.”
“Possessed is more likely.” She mutters under her breath, lest he take offense. Instead, she tries to adopt a smile, though it probably looks as if she’s slightly manic, given her teeth are clenched. She prefers a pen and paper for her drafts, but that doesn’t work in a fast-paced environment such as this one. Instead, she’s done her best (subjectively speaking) to use the infernal device that is currently the bane of her existence (and thus proves every negative thought she has about the machine).
Before he can say another word, she wanders off towards the kitchen. At least she can get a(nother) cup of coffee.
“You look like hell.”
Hermione almost turns on her heel and returns to her desk. Almost. She doesn’t need the reminder that she’s barely slept in the past two days. The boss’s boss has a presentation to give to the board, and she’s the one producing the slides for it. She wants to think it’s a coup for them to have asked her. More likely, they couldn’t find anyone else willing to put in the time. Or, it’s her boss’s job, but the arse has offloaded it to her. Either way, it all has to be done by 4 o’clock. And it’s nearly noon.
“Thanks, Pansy. I appreciate you pointing out the obvious.”
Her words carry no heat. There aren’t so many women in the office that it makes sense to alienate the ones who are — save Dolores Umbridge in Accounting. That woman makes everyone’s skin crawl.
In contrast to Hermione’s outfit which gives off 'just this side of slept in' vibes, the other woman looks perfectly put together, as always: dressed to the nines, nails done, not a hair out of place. If she didn’t know better, Hermione would attribute the difference in their appearance to the fact that Pansy is a receptionist and doesn’t have to worry about things like deadlines, a god-awful boss breathing down your neck, and incompetent co-workers who think it’s okay to ignore your urgent emails.
But Hermione knows differently. In snatches of conversation and shared commiseration, she’s learned that Pansy’s outward appearance means people don’t always take her seriously. Too many of the men in the office treat her like an errand girl, instead of one of their most valuable assets. After all, to their customers, first impressions matter. Plus, Pansy knows how to get things done. She may be friends with the CEO’s son, but you’d never know it because she’d rather prove herself. She wants to be recognised for being good at what she does — not just for being a pretty face that answers phones.
Everyone has their own coping mechanisms. Hermione, too, knows something about a crippling fear of incompetence. She just can’t stand wearing heels — and her pride would never allow her to own a skirt that short. Instead, she puts in the time — and overtime — in an effort to be noticed by the higher ups. She comes in early, stays late, and takes work home when necessary — anything to get the job done.
Pansy hands her a cup of coffee. “You going to make it?”
“Yeah,” Hermione nods. “I just need McLaggen to get me the stuff he said he would.”
Three days ago. McLaggen’s deadline was three days ago. It’s as if he enjoys stringing her along. Or more likely, he wants her to fail.
“Need me to work my charm?” Pansy asks. Hermione’s grateful, but not desperate. After all, she also has her ways. If the numbers aren’t in by 1, she’ll send McLaggen a reminder and copy their boss. But she’s nearly positive he’ll send them. He knows she won’t hesitate to escalate — and she knows he seeks to annoy her just as much as he can without actually jeopardising the work.
“No, I just need my computer to cooperate so I can run the final reports and populate the charts.”
“Again? Do I need to call someone?”
Hermione shakes her head after sipping her coffee.
“You seem awfully calm about it.”
“IT already sent someone up. He’s working on it now.”
At this, Pansy’s face lights up. “Oh? Who’d they send?”
“No idea.” She’s only slightly embarrassed that she doesn’t remember his name. He’d been pleasant enough when he sat down at her desk. However, she has no time for niceties. She just needs him to fix her computer.
“I should go see.”
“Why?”
“Um,” Pansy hesitates for a moment — and Pansy never hesitates. “It might be the new guy. He may need something.”
“Weren’t you at the desk when he came up?”
“Copy machine. Weasley had an urgent need for sheets for the football pool.”
“But that’s not even a company event!”
“Tell me about it. He insisted Lockhart gave permission.”
They both roll their eyes at that. The VP of Marketing is a buffoon. No one has any idea how he still has a job. He has to have dirt on someone somewhere.
Hermione drains the last of her coffee. “I should go. Hopefully, he’s done by now.”
“I’ll go with you,” Pansy volunteers, though Hermione isn’t sure why. However, she ends up leading the way back to Hermione's desk.
“Hey, Nev.”
Neville. Hermione suddenly remembers.
“Hey, Pansy.” His cheeks take on a hint of pink. For a moment, the two stand there looking at each other while Hermione watches the dynamic, waiting for someone to do something. Instead, Neville finally notices her standing there. “Ah, you’re back.”
“Is it working?”
“Yeah.” He gives an unbothered smile. “It was never broken. You just dragged your file into a folder. I found it.”
Hermione stares at the screen, free of the chaos that she normally works with. It may look convoluted, but she has a system. She knows where everything is — most of the time. Her heart starts beating fast. “Wait! My files! My project!” There’s no sign of the spreadsheets or documents that have consumed her time over the last several days.
Neville doesn’t flinch. “Nah, take a look. I used your groupings to create folders and added tags so you’d have everything all in one place.” He taps a few keys and all the relevant documents for her current assignment — including the file that disappeared — pop up. “And I fixed the formula for the table you had open.”
Hermione quickly scans the screen, ready to pull her hair out. Instead, all of her files are neatly arranged, even the file that McLaggen finally deigned to provide. “Wow — this may be life-changing.”
“Ah, it’s no big deal at all. These things, you know," he pats the computer familiarly, "they like an easy touch. No special magic required. I’m just happy to be of service.” He stands from her chair. “I can show you some more tricks sometime, if you’d like.”
He's rendered Hermione speechless. If she had a technology kink, it might be firing right now. Unlike others in the IT department, Neville seems to know his stuff. It may be the first time someone made the wretched machine work better than messing it up further.
“Uh, thanks.” She takes her seat, ready to focus on the task at hand once more.
Pansy’s still standing there, shifting her weight from one foot to the other — yet another reason Hermione doesn’t wear heels. She tilts her head so that the bob she wears hangs to one side.
“Do you think you could take a look at my desktop, too? It’s been acting up and I could use your help.” Pansy sounds very un-Pansy-ish — as if his answer might matter to her.
“Um, sure. I’d be happy to.”
By the time the two of them wander off, Hermione’s focus is already back on the presentation. In the back of her mind, however, she makes a note to ask about the exchange that just happened. Perhaps Pansy has a bit of a Neville kink. And perhaps he’s willing to change more than just her system settings.
Life-changing, indeed.