Antique
Tomione Spring Soulmate Challenge (that's a season late)
One-shot. Non-magic (sort of) & Modern AU
Summary: College student Hermione Granger is dragged to a dingy antique shop by the girl she babysits, only to find her destiny - and her past.
Rating: M
Warnings: language, graphic death (and murder), violence
Miss Herm-my-own-ee
"Fine, Luna, we can go into the shop, but only for a minute!" Hermione called out to the young girl, but she had already dashed into the brick building. Hermione sighed and put her hands on her hips, looking up at the sign. It read, "Marvolo's Antique Emporium" in peeling black letters on the green wooden board.
Hermione, currently on her semester abroad in London, was babysitting for her journalism Professor Xenophilius Lovegood. Her teacher, while a little zany, was none the less a good man, and his daughter was a tiny wisp of a girl who loved playing pretend. Hermione didn't mind the girl playing games or being creative, but what concerned her was that Luna believed all of it to be true. And today's "positively true thing, Miss Herm-my-own-ee" was that there was a man who was over two thousand years old in this magical shop. It was at times like this Hermione longed for her mother's counsel, but she was halfway across the globe in Sydney for a business conference while her Dad kept on eye on things at home in Virginia.
Begrudgingly, Hermione entered the shop and was immediately overwhelmed but the dryness of the air - as if someone had vacuum-sealed the room shut for a very long time. Particles of dust hung in the air, unmoving and paralyzed. Time seemed to have forgotten this little shop in the back alley of Fleet Street. The floors were weathered from years of muddy boots and - was that dried blood?
"Luna, honey, we need to leave," Hermione called out in as calm a voice as she could. The shop was not too big, but shadowy enough that it could hide people in its depths, and it seemed to have swallowed little Luna whole.
"Oh, but I just found the most wondrous thing Miss Herm-my-own-ee", Luna pleaded while over pronouncing Hermione's name. "They have a mermaid skeleton over here!" Following the high pitched voice, Hermione finally found the blonde child by a darkly lit glass case full of odd skeletons.
"Luna," Hermione pleaded her before she was interrupted.
"You need to leave." Hermione looked around but could not find the source of the voice. "Now!" The voice hissed. Hermione looked down and saw a giant, angry snake with its fangs out and ready to eat them. She grabbed Luna and darted for the front door, but the handle wouldn't budge. Hermione began to panic and tried to shove against the door, but it did nothing.
"HELP!" Luna began to scream. Hermione stood in front of Luna, ready to take the snake bite for her as the beast came lunging forward. Luckily, there was an umbrella stand right next to the door and Hermione seized an umbrella, wielding it like she had seen Gandalf wield his staff in Lord of the Rings.
"Nagini!" A boy's high-pitched voice shouted over the pandemonium. He cried something else that she can barely make it out - he sounded like a squealing water pipe ready to burst. The snake still leapt forward, despite the boy's commands. She was able to swat it away with the rusted and weather umbrella, but not before it bit her in the arm. And then suddenly, the room went black.