A/N this is my first fan fic, please be kind enough to leave a review and be gentle with me ;p
DISCLAIMER all characters belong to JK ROWLING I am just borrowing them for my own amusement :)
Madalaine xx
Hermione sighed as she looked at the monitor in front of her, when she had first agreed to work in a muggle library she never dreamed that she would spend her day helping muggles turn on computers, having to reboot them every five minutes because the system was yet again infected with viruses. No, Hermione dreamed of being at one with her beloved books, being able to share her love and knowledge of all literature and helping children start their journeys into the world of reading. She had not anticipated being bored out of her skull standing at desk whilst ignoring the dull ache in her back most likely caused from standing at an awkward angle whilst listening to muggle after muggle asking the same question; for their time on their computer to be extended.
As the time came for Hermione to leave she was relieved that there were only a few people around. She walked along the pavement mindlessly, shuffling through her Mp3 player looking for a song to lighten the burdens of the day. She settled on "Mister Blue Sky" and hummed along still not paying much attention to the people around her, just listening to the happy tune and finding that she was smiling and remembering her mother singing this very song whilst vacuuming the house last summer break. It was after the third time of listening that she decided to start paying attention to where she was heading, the nearest Costa.
As she reached her destination, she opened the door, walked up to the counter and ordered a caramel latte and looked around the shop to pass the time as she waited for the milk to be heated. Her eyes narrowed in frustration as she saw a young lad take a piece of chewing gum out of his mouth, roll it in his hand and then place it under the table he was currently occupying so that he could most likely kiss the poor unsuspecting girl who was sitting opposite him. She would have loved to have pulled out her wand and make the chewing gum unstick itself and fly straight into his left nostril...that would teach him she thought.
"That's £2.60 love" the young man who had just made her coffee shouted above the racket that was taking place in the small coffee shop.
"Oh, err thanks, here you go" Hermione replied crossly, her mind still thinking about the specific spells that would teach that boy some manners.
She took a sip of the sweet coffee goodness and once again pressed play on her Mp3 and walked out the shop still muttering to herself crossly about muggle men these days not having any manners. She kept walking until she reached the next destination she required, an alleyway that only the young drunk muggles seemed to find at daft o'clock when they stumbled around trying to find somewhere to relieve their aching bladders. The smell was pretty grim. But it served its purpose. She looked round a couple of times more before pulling out her wand holding her coffee tight in one hand and tucking her handbag tighter under her right arm and apparating with a load CRACK.
Hermione landed directly in the courtyard behind the leaky cauldron and went about tapping the correct quick brick sequence to allow herself entrance into Diagon Alley, the place that she called home.
She took the earphones out and wrapped them slowly around the small player in her hand before tucking them into a protective sock and placing them into a small compartment of her handbag. Still sipping on her coffee she didn't notice a pair of twinkling eyes full of amusement that were avidly watching her every move as she wandered along the bustling street full of witches and wizards of all ages on their way home.
By the time she had reached Weasleys Wizards Wheezes her coffee was all but drunk, leaving only a few dregs at the bottom, her mood had improved, the muggle boy all but forgotten and she was beginning to brace herself for what was about to come. She shrank her handbag and placed it into the pocket of her woollen coat, muttering a charm that essentially zipped it closed to make sure that it would not be lost with any sudden movement.
The door rattled and a garish bout of confetti landed on her head as she entered...it was never the same confetti, each day it was full of different colours, shapes and oddly had different scents that accompanied the wackiness of the Owners tastes of the day. Today it was most definitely the smell of fresh mown grass and new parchment...and the colours included mauves mixed with hints of lilac and magenta. The owners must be gearing up for the onslaught of Valentines the holiday most dreaded by herself and her friend Luna alike.
Hermione looked up and saw George muttering away to himself at the register, by the sounds of it he was cursing his father at the same time as well as the stupid unreliable till that had been modified by his father as a side project over the Christmas holidays. It had been modified to accept both muggle and wizarding money but it never quite got the balance right at the end of the day therefore meaning either himself or his brother had to go through every transaction painfully without magic at the end of the business day.
"George", Hermione said quietly "Why don't you let me fix that blasted till for you? I have told you repeatedly it would only take me five minutes! It would save you so much time and effort, let alone the numerous pointless squabbles you two have every eve..."
Hermione wasn't able to finish the sentence because suddenly she was pulled backwards into a muscular chest and a calloused, freckly hand was placed over her wide open mouth. She tensed immediately. Then her body relaxed as she was turned round to face her silent attacker. She looked up into a pair of twinkling blue eyes. That glimmered with amusement as Hermione's eyebrows knitted together in frustration.
"Hello Love, good day? You seem a little tense there 'Mione...you really should sort out your priorities you know...Instead of the exasperation you were aiming at my dear brother over there, you should have prepared yourself for this." He tightened his grip on her and pulled her tighter into his chest, still not releasing his hand from her mouth.
Hermione knew that she wasn't going to be released until she relaxed fully and looked fully at him. As her eyebrows divided back into two neat narrow arches, the hand covering her mouth removed itself as quick as it had been placed there.
"Eurgh" she retorted, before pushing her twinkly eyed silencer away and storming off to the back of the store and walking through into the backroom.
"Oh you are in for it now brother mine" George said chuckling slightly as he shook his head side to side and watched his brother follow Hermione into the backroom.
