Friday, January 24th, 2003
I was walking down Diagon Alley, toward Flourish and Blotts in the late morning when I heard the sobbing, more like sniffling. I looked around and almost immediately found the source: a little girl with white-blond hair no more than three years old. She was standing right in front of my store. There were no adults by her. She seemed lost. I walked up to her and crouched beside her.
"Hey sweetie, is everything okay?" I asked. She looked up at me with watery, grey eyes and shook her head.
"Are you lost?" to which, she nodded.
"Sweetheart, do you have a name?"
"Ly-ra," she said childishly.
"My name's Hermione but you can call me Mia, like all my friends."
She smiled a weak smile and nodded her understanding.
"Who are you with, Lyra?"
"My Daddy," she whispered quietly.
"When was the last time you saw your daddy?"
"In da sto,"
"In the store, hmm? Was he going in or coming out?"
"Out."
Well, that certainly made things harder. The father could have gone in any direction or inside any of the stores. I decided the safest option was to take Lyra back into the store and ask if any of the employees saw Lyra and her father together. So I propose that to her.
"Lyra, why don't we go inside the shop and ask if anyone saw which way your daddy went? Does that sound like a plan?"
She nodded once again. Well apparently, she's a quiet kid.
I led her into the store and to the playpen by the children's section.
"Lyra why don't you go play in the play. While I go and ask around for your daddy okay?"
She nodded and shuffled in to the playpen, I watched her for a bit to make sure she was comfortable.
She looked vaguely familiar but I just couldn't place whom she looked like. I wracked my brain; she definitely had some very unique features, the platinum hair, grey eyes, and pale skin. As I listed out her attributes in my mind, I realized whom she looked like. It's still just a hunch though, I needed confirmation.
I looked around the store to see who was working. I noticed Thomas at the register by the exit. He would have most likely to seen everyone who entered and exited the store. I headed over to him. He waved as he saw me approach.
"Hey, Thomas! Did you by any chance see a man with that kid over there?" I asked pointing to Lyra in the playpen.
"Yeah! a guy walked in here about half an hour ago with that little girl and another little boy. The little boy started kicking up a fuss about something and was on the verge of throwing a real tantrum. The quickly guy paid for his books and left quickly with the two kids. He left about... twenty minutes back?"
"Describe him to me," I ordered.
With a raised eyebrow at my unusual brusqueness, Thomas described the man to me, "Well, he looked about your age, just over 6 feet, white blond hair, incredibly pale, dressed in black. Oh! And he was muttering on about someone named Astrid? Astoria? or was it... I'm actually not sure…"
I was right. With a satisfied grin because, well, I was right, I say, "Thanks, Thomas! I think I know exactly who her father is. I'll send him a patronus. I'm going to stay with her for a bit and then I promised Anya lunch. I know I said we'd do it this morning but can go over the new shipments after Lunch instead?"
He assented and I walked back over to Lyra. I conjured up my patronus and sent the otter off in search of Draco Malfoy, with instructions to tell him to come to Flourish and Blotts because his daughter was there. I watched as the otter glided out the store and into the sea of people in Diagon Alley.
"Hey sweetheart," I said to catch Lyra's attention. "I've sent for your daddy. He should be here soon okay?"
She came over to me and hugged my legs. "Tank you Mia!" she said.
"Anytime, sweetheart. Why don't I read you a book while we wait, hmm? This is a bookstore after all."
She nodded and we walked over to the children's book collection.
"What kinds of books do you like?" I asked.
"I like books bout dwagons," she said as she picked out one of the more popular children's books, Denny the Dragon Learns to Fly.
We go over to the Den, one of my personal favorite additions to Flourish and Blotts, a corner of the store with big, plush sofas and a roaring fireplace that gave it a warm, comfy vibe. I chose one of the sofas facing the door, so that I would see when Malfoy came into the store. Lyra climbed on to my lap and I opened up the book in front of the both of us and began to read the fantastical story to her.
A/N: I know that this is a relatively short chapter. The next chapter is going to be the same day from Malfoy's perspective.
A/N2: As always, let me know what you think.