HRH Bookshop
Chapter One: HRH Bookshop
A quick a/n- For anyone who read the first version of this chapter, this one is only slightly different and most of it is grammatical and sentence flow stuff. Also thank you for everyone who has reviewed so far, I really appreciate it. Enjoy!
Pulling her knees to her chest, one hand on her heaving chest, Hermione slowly let the crisp London night air fill her lungs. As her wildly beating heart slowly returned to normal, Hermione heard the howling wind outside her open window. Slowly Hermione swung her shaking legs over the edge of the bed and made her way to the open window.
Leaning on the open windowsill and looking out at the full moon she let her mind wonder back to her reoccurring dream, the one that had plagued her nearly every night those past three years. It was always the same, she thought as large salty tears fell to the street bellow. The dream was like a montage of memories, some good and some bad. They were random, from Harry playing Quiddich to the day Ron proposed. The tears streamed down her face, falling heavily, they always came when she though about the past, about her best friend and the love of her life. Hermione opened her eyes sharply at the sound of a dog howling in the street, reminding her of her old professor, like her best friends, dead after the war. Hermione was brought back to reality by the howling and before turning away from the widow and the street light bellow, she pushed the window down lightly leaving it open just a crack as if tempting fate. Turning and walking to the bathroom in her small muggle flat Hermione looked at the bed sadly, even after three years alone she still slept on the left side of the bed, and expected to see Ron sprawled out needing to be shaken awake.
Standing under the hot stream of water Hermione let the tears fall, washing her face and hair slowly before slipping out into the chilly air of her flat. Hermione wore a simple pencil skirt and a loose blouse, the only thing out of the ordinary of her outfit was the thin wand strapped to her right thigh under her skirt. Although Hermione had given up magic and the wizarding world almost three years prior she didn't feel safe without her wand by her side. Hermione checked her reflection in the mirror briefly before turning away, not wanting to look at herself any longer. She had changed quite a bit in those last three years after leaving the wizarding world. After the war she had taken to hiding her trademark wild brunette hair under black hair dye, hoping that it would help disguise her in the advent of seeing some one who might recognize her. Since the war Hermione had also changed physically and not necessarily for the better. Hermione had thinned almost to an unhealthy extent and her skin had lost its youthful glow. Even her friends of later years would have found her difficult to recognize, she simply had changed too drastically. Most of all in recent years her disposition was melancholy and reserved, rarely giving more information than necessary to anyone. Despite all of the changes that Hermione had undergone due to hardships and sadness she still had a sad sort of beauty about her, that if only she would smile some life would reenter her bottomless brown eyes.
By eight am Hermione had run out of things to do in her small flat and made her way through the hatch in the floor of her living room down a black spiral stair case into a book shop, shutting it behind her. Hermione took the stairs the entire way down spiraling past the small upper floor. A year before hand Hermione had been taking a walk from her flat a few miles away, she walked a lot then, she walked and thought, thought about the past and her sorrow. She hadn't been truly happy until she had seen that bookshop in a long time, the coziest little shop she'd ever seen, for sale. She had bought it with little thought and since devoted her life to it. Hermione had few friends and had no contact with the wizarding world, finding it too painful. HRH bookshop became her life; Hermione had named it in honor of her best friends. Nobody seemed to question what the shop name meant and she never gave an answer if they did. The bookshop's walls were books all the way up, a wonderful mix of the beast's library and her favorite place in the world, Hogwarts library. HRH had large overstuffed armchairs scattered around the room, she loved them because they reminded her of the armchairs in the Gryffindor common room, where she experienced some of the best times of her life.
Hermione flicked on the lights when she reached the bottom of the stairs and made her way to her favorite maroon armchair. There she faced the window through which she saw the backward HRH stenciled on it. It was another hour before a customer came in; a gentleman looking for a book on bird watching; she found it quickly and handed it to the portly red-faced man waiting. Hermione could find any book in her shop in a jiffy; it was her life that shop. Over all it was a slow day, sporadic customers pulling Hermione away from her latest book (Jane Eyre, which she saw as wonderful and tragic at the same time). Time passed quickly, enthralled with her book she was startled when she heard the gentle ring of the bell hanging above the door. Hermione decided not to look up and instead just kept reading. Most of the time customers only looked around then left after a while, plus nobody liked a snoopy clerk.
Hermione knew that there were two of them, probably lovers, Hermione thought resentfully. Women always seemed to drag their boyfriends in to her shop; they seemed to find it "romantic". As the couple moved towards her, Hermione abandoned her book completely, listening keenly to their conversation.
Hermione heard the girl say in a cheery voice "Oli, I told you, you need to get out more, it won't do if your always "practicing" –the girl said this suspiciously- "I tried to warn you, I did, Mum thinks your gay. I tried to dissuade her but she's in quite a tizz about it. Honestly what do you expect, we never meet your mates, you never bring home girls and all you ever talk about is sport. -" At this point the gentleman interrupted with a grunt of indignation. This startled Hermione and forced her to reconsider her initial thought about them being "together", she reconsidered and decided they must be siblings.
The man replied with a gentle chuckle, " First of all Laura, I am NOT gay, you know that, and second you've met my mates before, aren't you always flirtin' with um at all my games? Lastly what does mum expect for me to just tell the cap'in that I can't go to practice because I have to take some dame to tea with my mum to prove I'm not a fairy, Yah that'll go over great. So you jus' tell mum to mind her own business, I'm Twenty- Five. Hell "
"Oliver, now don't get upset, I was just telling you what mum said, I defended you, believe me I know your not gay, I'm the one who found those pictures during Easter break your sixth year, also don't swear, it gives a bad impression"
As his sister continued to talk Hermione was drawn into the conversation, not wanting to pry but unable to ignore it any longer she looked up. This particular exchange seemed to stop when "Oliver" said in a soft but authoritative voice " Laura, that's enough, I don't want to talk about it, especially not in public or a sales clerk" at this point Oliver was staring right back into Herminie's deep pools of amber eyes. Hermione blushed crimson and looked down at her book, mortified that she had been caught staring at him. Oliver finished with " What book were you looking for again Laura?"
With his attention once again diverted at his sister Hermione lifted her head once again taking in the sibling's appearances. Oliver was athletic looking, slightly burly but very attractive, with sandy brown hair. He was wearing a sweater that said property of P… United. The word that began with P was so faded that it was unreadable. Hermione assumed that her must be a football player. His sister looked very similar, appearing to be a bit younger, maybe Hermione's age, with the same build only leaner, the only difference being her long shoulder length auburn hair, fluttering becomingly around her face as she shook it in either laughter of indignation. The girl was dressed very uniquely in a sort of vibrancy that rivaled Hermione's old friend Tonks.
He slouched, supporting his weight against a section of bookshelves that was dedicated to murder mysteries. She noted that he looked almost out of place in his clothes as if he wasn't used to them. Seeing that she had blown her cover and could no longer pretend she hadn't noticed them Hermione unfurled her legs from beneath her slowly, running her hand down her skirt to smooth it out, doing so feeling her wand, which gave her courage. Hermione flipped her book over placing it on the table next to her and turned to the siblings.
"Can I help you with anything?" She directed this at the girl as she was still embarrassed at being caught staring at her brother.
The girl replied cheerfully "Um yah, actually I'm looking for a book called Cake Baking, its so easy, it's almost MAGIC, a girlfriend recommended it to me and I'm getting married at the end of the summer I figure I should learn to bake now or never." She said this as her brother rolled his eyes. Hermione gasped a bit at the word magic, for some reason it came out of nowhere and startled her alarmingly.
The Oliver bloke seemed to find this funny and asked in a mischievous voice " Don't you wish magic were real, and you really could bake a cake with magic, no messing with those…. ovens?" this comment was obviously focused at Hermione.
Hermione gasped another moment looking for words before quietly replying "no, I don't" she snapped continuing softer "it would just create more problems, I'm happy just being ordinary" as she said these last words her voice began to choke with emotion, she swallowed hard trying to hold back the flood of tears she knew were so close.
Seeing the effect his good natured question had created in the sales girl Oliver was confused and his sister quickly interrupted the awkward silence with a reproachful remark directed towards her brother "Oli, now leave the poor woman alone, magic isn't normal conversation, you KNOW it isn't real." The woman, Laura seemed to stress the word know in an odd manner. Hermione smiled sadly at this remark, thinking if only they knew.
Hermione swallowed again, regaining her composure before addressing the girl's first question. "Well, actually we don't usually carry that book, but if you'd like me to order it I'd be happy to and it'd be here in about a week"
"Well that'd be great, I'll look around while Oliver gives you his information, because he's going to buy it for me as a wedding present, aren't you Oli?"
Oliver appeared to not have known this but took it in stride simply replying to his sister "now Laura you know I don't have a telephone and secondly your wedding isn't for months".
"No bother, he'll pick it up, you said a week right?" at a silent nod from Hermione she continued "He'll come by sometime Friday or Saturday if that's alright, and your little sister only gets married once you know"
"Yah that's fine, I'll be here"
Oliver interrupted with " well Laura since you have my life so perfectly mapped out you should remember that you're meeting your wonderful fiancée Percy ten minutes ago."
"O dear you're right" turning to Hermione she offered her thanks and some advice "thank you so much and please don't let my dear brother bother you too much, he's just a thick jock" she turned and proceeded to rush out of the store, after a few second still in view of the window Hermione witnessed her turn around and rush back through the still open shop door. Laura grabbed Oliver's sleeve and gasped out of air as she dragged him along, Oliver how could you let me leave you, you KNOW I can't get in without you" Laura stress the word know again, and Hermione was starting to wonder why she seemed to "know" that her brother "knew" so much.
As he was being dragged out of the store Oliver turned his face back towards Hermione, and said with a wolfish grin on his face, "I never told you my name its Oliver, Oliver Wood." As all Hermione's blood rushed out of her face and her breath caught, Oliver was pulled out of sight by his ever-persistent sister.
Well this is my First Fan Fiction so please excuse any inconsistencies or grammatical errors you may find, just let me know and I will fix them. Thanks for giving this a try, please read on and most of all please leave a review, the good, the bad and the ugly, I would appreciated any reviews you want to write, weather you liked it or not. Have an Awesome day!
Nicole