If Remus had not memorised every one of those curls the very first day he had met her, he might have walked past the small restaurant and not have noticed her at all. A slight movement of her hand as she twirled a lock around her finger had been enough to get his attention. Her hair was a tad shorter and he wouldn't have been surprised if she had coloured it a shade darker - but the girl was unmistakably Hermione Granger.
She was a hardly a girl anymore, however. Even in those last days at Hogwarts, when she was still a teenager, it hadn't seemed right to call her a girl. She was a woman who had come into her own.
The last days at Hogwarts had been years before, the exact number he didn't care to count. Her seventh year had been cut short by the attack - the attack that ended almost everything. Hogwarts fell and the wizarding world itself seemed to implode. Those who hadn't been killed scattered around the globe, afraid of their very shadows.
Hermione had stayed until after they buried Harry. She hadn't told anyone of her plans to leave; she was just gone by the next morning. No one had seen her since, until today. Remus felt a bit guilty for even recognising her. He wasn't welcome in her life anymore. All he had to do was walk in and pass by her table ... and her new world would be shattered. A broken shard from the old cutting deep into the new.
He couldn't do that to her. With a sad sigh, he turned away from the window and continued down the street.
Ginny was waiting for him at the intersection. "I thought I had lost you! What happened?"
"I thought I recognised someone in one of the shops."
"Who?" The petite redhead had a hopeful look on her face. There were scores of people she wanted to see again.
"It doesn't matter because it wasn't them. I think my mind was playing a trick on me." Remus took her hand. "If we don't hurry, we'll miss our reservation."
She was a hardly a girl anymore, however. Even in those last days at Hogwarts, when she was still a teenager, it hadn't seemed right to call her a girl. She was a woman who had come into her own.
The last days at Hogwarts had been years before, the exact number he didn't care to count. Her seventh year had been cut short by the attack - the attack that ended almost everything. Hogwarts fell and the wizarding world itself seemed to implode. Those who hadn't been killed scattered around the globe, afraid of their very shadows.
Hermione had stayed until after they buried Harry. She hadn't told anyone of her plans to leave; she was just gone by the next morning. No one had seen her since, until today. Remus felt a bit guilty for even recognising her. He wasn't welcome in her life anymore. All he had to do was walk in and pass by her table ... and her new world would be shattered. A broken shard from the old cutting deep into the new.
He couldn't do that to her. With a sad sigh, he turned away from the window and continued down the street.
Ginny was waiting for him at the intersection. "I thought I had lost you! What happened?"
"I thought I recognised someone in one of the shops."
"Who?" The petite redhead had a hopeful look on her face. There were scores of people she wanted to see again.
"It doesn't matter because it wasn't them. I think my mind was playing a trick on me." Remus took her hand. "If we don't hurry, we'll miss our reservation."