Grace had just finished composing a letter to a fellow educator when she heard a small knock on her office door.
"Come in". Grace said mindlessly as she stuffed the completed letter into an envelope.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Grace, but I need you to approve this list". The request came from a small timid elderly woman standing in the door frame of Grace's work office.
"Thank you Millie". Grace responded as her assistant handed over a piece of paper.
"This is the list so far of the.. um, what is it you call them?, people who signed up for your intro to wizardry course for the community out reach program." Millie explained. Millie herself was a muggle, and unfamiliar with the entirety of the wizarding world.
"Thank you, Millie, I will look over this." Grace said.
"And remember, you currently do not have anyone to teach the course, as to the limited staff we still have". Millie reminded Grace.
"Yes, thank you I do know we are short staffed, yet again." Grace said a bit distastefully.
Grace peered up from her glasses to look at Millie as she turned to leave, "And the term you are looking for is 'muggles'". Grace informed the woman. To which Millie just nodded and quietly left Grace's office.
Grace leaned back in her office chair for a moment. She knew that this would come to be a problem yet again this school year. Not many wizards have turned to the education profession so being a short staffed university had become a problem Grace was familiar at handling. However, this year, her committee had planned this new out reach program in an attempt to blend the wizarding and muggle communities. This was in the hopes that through education, conflicts between the communities would not be so significant. Pensive for a moment in her chair, Grace considered her options.
Grace knew that she would figure something out, she always did. In the mean time, Grace decided to review her schedule for the rest of the week. Planning out her week she found two different meetings on her calendar this Thursday that she would rather skip.
Meanwhile across town, Hermione Granger was looking through the local city magazine. She was trying to find some thing to do this coming weekend. She had to get out of her house. It had been a week since she had walked into the coffee shop where she had met Grace and in the past week she had thought about her long conversation with Grace that day. Never had she felt such a quick connection with someone she had just met before.
A few days passed and Thursday found Grace leaving her office to walk to her meeting. However, before she realized it, her subconscious dread of having to go to this particular meeting had taken to her feet. Her feet moving her in the opposite direction of her meeting, up the stairs, around the corner to a different hallway of the university building, and right out side down the front steps. She took a deep breath of the summer air. Squinting a bit from the light of the sun, Grace took more steps forward, leading her through the campus and eventually in towards the town. Without realizing where her feet were taking her, she found herself outside the front door of the coffee shop that she had stepped foot into the previous week.
Well that's interesting isn't it. Grace thought to herself as she reached out her hand and pulled on the door handle to open. As she entered the coffee shop, Grace surveyed the area. She perused the drink menu. She thought she might try something new to drink. As she stepped up to the counter to order, she heard a familiar voice at the opposite counter.
"Ah, yes please, can please get a white cinnamon hot chocolate?"
Grace glanced up and her eyes were met by none other than Hermione.
A coincidence? Grace thought. There, at the opposite cash register, was the young woman she had spent an afternoon with just the other week in this very same coffee shop. Grace watched the girl place her order, pay the cashier and walk over to the pick up counter around the corner. Grace quickly ordered her own beverage and slipped around the corner.
"Hermione?" Grace hesitantly greeted the girl as she leaned in.
"Grace!" Hermione stated. "yes, its good to see you again!" She exclaimed, "What are the chances we'd meet again, here."
"Yes, the chances, I'm pretty sure, are due to the fact I just simply walked out and skipped a meeting this afternoon.". Grace confessed.
Hermione chuckled a bit. Grace just watched a smile appear across the girl's face.
"So what are you doing here this afternoon?" Grace inquired.
"Just stopped in". Hermione said as she grabbed her drink that was just made ready.
"Do you have some time?" Grace questioned." Hermione nodded.
"Would you might want to take a walk?" Grace pressed.
"Sure". Hermione responded with a quick smile.
The pair of them took their beverages to go and stepped outside of the coffee shop.
"Which way would you like to go" Hermione asked.
"Well, the university is that way," Grace pointed straight ahead of them, "And there's the park over there," She continued as she pointed towards the left of where they were standing. "Where would you like to walk?" Grace questioned. "Oh wait, I know where we can go". Grace interrupted Hermione's chance to respond to her question.
Grace started walking the pair of them towards the right of where they were standing. They got to the street corner, crossed the stopped traffic and turned left. They walked about half a city block and crossed the middle of the street once more. Hermione was not sure where Grace was taking her but she was would follow. They walked just a bit further and the two stood in front of a iron gate. Just beyond the gate was a brick patio area with benches, surrounded by a beautiful garden. It was a beautiful nook set back from the road, almost hidden from the rest of the city.
Grace reached for the gate and pushed it open just enough for the two to slip inside. They walked and Grace led the way further into the small garden area. They walked up to just where the benches were and stopped. Hermione sat down at the bench and sipped her drink. She looked around the garden and noticed that Grace had not moved. She hadn't even looked around her surroundings. Grace's eyes just stayed on Hermione.
"What?" Hermione questioned.
"Nothing." Grace said. "I'm just looking."
Hermione watched as Grace finally moved from the spot she was stuck to. She moved to sit down on the bench, still watching Hermione. Hermione did the same and sat down on the bench next to Grace.
"So tell me, do you come here often?" Hermione asked of Grace.
"Sometimes". Grace replied. "When I want to reconnect with myself. I don't usually share it with others though". Grace confessed slightly smirking over at Hermione.
"Oh?" Hermione said. Feeling a bit favored with this information that had just been shared with her, Hermione decided to be bold.
"Have you brought Tom here?" Hermione asked. She knew it was a bit personal but Grace obviously felt comfortable with her.
Grace looked at Hermione for a moment before answering. "Yes." she said simply. "But it was a long time ago". She added quietly.
The pair of them sat in silence for quite a while enjoying the day in the space that belonged only to them at that moment.
Still feeling a bit bold, Hermione asked another question. "Do you think things will ever change?"
Again, Grace's answer was simple, "No".
"I'm sorry." Hermione responded.
Grace just gave Hermione a tiny smile and without warning reached down and grabbed Hermione's hand in hers. Both small, but each seemed to fit in the other's perfectly.
Hermione pressed on with more questions. "What are you going to do?"
"What I have been doing I guess." Grace replied. "Just keep going.".
After awhile longer of quiet talking- mostly Grace's simple answers to Hermione's persistent questions- the pair decided to make their way out of the small gardens and walk back up the city street from where they had come from.
When hey had almost reached their destination, Grace stopped just short of the coffee shop. Hermione turned back to face Grace with a curious expression.
"You know, I do believe I am very grateful to have met you Ms. Hermione Granger." Grace said, and before Hermione had a chance to smile in response, Grace leaned in and gently placed her lips against Hermione's.
Before Hermione could process, Grace took a step back bit horrified at what she had just done. and with that Grace turned and left Hermione pondering what had just occurred.