Written for QLFC Final #1
Team: Wigtown Wanderers
Position: Beater 2
Prompt: Remus/Hermione (player 5's OTP), metaphor, personification
Additional Prompts: 1. (dialogue) "We buy one every month!", 2. (word) hazelnut, 5. (quote) 'If you done it, it ain't bragging.' - Walt Whitman
Words: 1394

Remus smiled as he started walking down the cobblestoned street. It was sunny out and the small shops around him were inviting and bright. He knew the street by heart, often walking on it on the way to work, and enjoyed looking at the colorful shop windows as he passed them. Occasionally, he even went inside.

The bigger shops were all located together on the larger part of the street, and though he usually frequented them, this time, he walked right past. He had a specific destination in mind—and it wasn't his job, because it was a Saturday and the school was closed—and it was at the very end of the street.

By the time he approached, there was a crowd around it. 'It' was a small shop, smaller than all those around it, but just as beautiful. The large sign above the door, easily visible from far away, made him grin.

Chocolate

As store names went, it wasn't particularly creative, but it did its job. Remus, hopelessly addicted to the sweet, came closer. The crowd he'd seen turned out to be a line waiting to enter the shop.

He wasn't surprised.

When he'd first seen the announcement, he'd been dubious. Sweets shops were common, as were cafes. But a shop dedicated entirely to chocolate? It wasn't completely unusual, but it certainly wasn't something one saw every day, and it would have to be very good in order to succeed.

As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of chocolate, Remus thought it only right to check out the shop; the sweet shop he frequented for chocolate had recently stopped importing his favorite chocolate-hazelnut cake. So, despite the beauty of the day, there had been only one reason why he'd left his house. With a determined set to his face, Remus approached the shop and got into the line.

About thirty minutes passed before he crossed the threshold. Wow, the wait was worth it. The shop itself was small, larger in length than width, and each wall was covered in shelves. There were assortments of sweets—not only chocolate, but mostly—on the shelves, and the tables in the middle of the shop had other treats on them. There were several vats of fudge and caramel in one corner, near the antique cash desk, with a thick haze of sugar over them.

His eyes wide as saucers and his mouth watering, Remus approached a glass-covered counter. The intricately-frosted cakes called to him, and who was he to protest?

"See anything you like?"

Remus looked up with a start. Warm brown eyes looked into his. He took a step back and saw that the eyes belonged to the beautiful face of a young woman behind the counter.

"Yes." He nodded. "Yes, I do." He pointed at one of the cakes. "Is that chocolate-hazelnut?"

She nodded. "Swiss-imported."

"I'll take it."

She slid open the door behind the counter and took it out. Then, she took out a knife and poised it above the cake. "One slice?"

"No, the whole thing, please." He grinned.

"Of course." She turned around and got a box. "Are you having guests over?"

"No, it's for me." He chuckled when she stared, and winked conspiratorially. "I'm a bottomless pit."

"Oh, is this a regular occurrence, then?" Her raised eyebrow indicated her disbelief.

"That," he said as he took the boxed cake, "you'll just have to see."

.oOo.

Remus returned to the shop a week later, now fully-satisfied with its quality. The line leading into it was just as long as the previous time, which made him smile; he was obviously not the only one who'd thought the shop was good.

He was inside the shop much quicker this time. The interior looked slightly different, with new types of chocolates on the shelves and different tablecloths on the tables, and there were more workers than before.

Remus quickly took a shopping basket and loaded it with chocolate bars before proceeding to the counter with the cakes. He saw cheesecakes and carrot cakes and vanilla cakes and lava cakes… but there was only one cake he wanted.

"Can I have the chocolate-hazelnut, please?"

"Of course." It was the same woman from last time, flashing him a blinding smile. "Just a slice or the whole thing again?"

"The whole thing again," he confirmed.

She laughed, but got a box and put the cake in it.

"You know," Remus mock-frowned. "If you're going to be making fun of me, you might as well tell me your name."

"Is that your way of getting to know me?" she asked. "Pointing out my flaws?"

"You are laughing at me."

"I am." She nodded and handed the box over. "As for my name… well, you'll just have to come back another time. I never reveal my name before the third date."

"Oh, are you a spy?"

"No, I'm a shop owner."

.oOo.

Remus wasn't a gluttonous man. Sure, he indulged in chocolate every once in a while—or a bit more than every once in a while, but he hadn't experienced any ill effects yet—but that was his only weakness. Besides, reading and grading adolescents' English papers was more than an excuse to eat copious amounts of chocolate.

The chocolate he'd bought on his second visit to the store was all gone. He'd eaten some of it and had given some of it to his friends (mostly, he'd eaten it). The cake, too, was gone. He hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said it was for him, but in his defense, it wasn't a large cake. It was ten days since he'd been to the shop, and his chocolate hoard was empty. It was time to go back.

The line into the shop was long, but it moved quickly. Once inside, Remus took his usual chocolate bars—he knew he'd be returning frequently—and went to get his cake. The counter displayed even more flavors than before; business must have been booming. But… Remus looked at the cakes carefully, there was no chocolate-hazelnut. One shipment contained three Swiss cakes, but the sign in the corner of the glass read All cakes displayed.

"Hello." It was the woman from before, smiling brightly at him.

"Hello." Remus pointed at the cakes. "Do you have any more chocolate-hazelnut? It's just… I've only bought two—"

"The shipments are three cakes," she interjected.

"Yes."

"We buy one every month!" She laughed, not meanly. "Or, that was the plan. Who was to think that we'd get a rabid chocolate-hazelnut consumer wanting to buy a cake a week?"

Remus sighed. "It's my favorite cake."

"Well, you'll just have to wait another few weeks."

He shrugged. There was nothing he could do about it. "Alright. In that case… I'll take the chocolate cheesecake and the… hmm… and the chocolate pie, please. The one with the berries, not the candied pecans."

She boxed them and handed over the boxes. "Are you really planning to eat all of that by yourself?"

"Not all by myself, no." He put the boxes into his basket. "Sometimes I share. But, I can. Not to brag, but I have before."

"If you done it, it ain't bragging."

"Walt Whitman."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you a fan?"

"I'm an English teacher."

"That's not an answer."

"Yes, I'm a fan. To a certain degree, at least." He nodded. "And you?"

"I prefer earlier poets."

Remus grinned. "And your name, please. Third date, right?"

"I wouldn't call it a date," she replied wryly, not fazed at the change of subject. "Just a meeting."

"You said 'date'."

"That I did." She returned his grin. "So how about it?"

"How about what?"

"A date."

In the short time they'd spent talking, Remus had already made up his mind; if she hadn't asked, he would have. "I'd love to."

She smiled, too. It was radiant and kind, and Remus really wanted to know what her name was. "In that case, you can come by later? Say, five? That's when I close. If you're free, of course?"

"I'm free," he agreed. "But what about—"

"Hermione."

"What?"

"That's my name."

"I like it." More smiles. "It's beautiful. And yes, Hermione, I'm free at five. We can go to the café down the street? It has really good hot chocolate. And a large selection of cakes."

A nod. "I'd like that."