Day Twenty-Seven

Hermione found Rabastan in the kitchen feeding Buzz the next morning. Ignoring her husband, she reached down to pick up the little kitten to cuddle and kiss him. With a flair for the dramatic, Rabastan acted like he was hurt and offended.

"Have I been replaced so easily? I was the one you used to kiss first."

She put Buzz down to accept a passionate kiss from the aggrieved party. To further encourage her not to ignore him in the future, he made certain to put a lot into the kiss. Only a loud 'meow' from their new kitten ruined the mood when they nearly stepped on him.

When it was time to go downstairs to the shop, she wasn't sure what to do about their kitten. Worried that he would be scared all alone in the flat, she shared her concerns with Rabastan.

"That's why I bought him a second basket to sleep in downstairs."

Like a proud and nervous new papa, Rabastan coated the entire area behind the counter and the office with barrier spells to keep Buzz contained. They wanted to be able to know where he was at all times. Until he was older and could prove to be trusted not to bolt out the front door every time it opened, they weren't taking any chances. Of course he was very popular with all of their customers. Staying mostly in his basket on top of the counter, he seemed to like all of the attention. That was a good thing if they planned on continuing to bring him downstairs.

Customers and the antics of a curious kitten helped the day to speed by. Before Hermione even realized what time it was, she was listening to her stomach growl. After a thorough teasing from her husband at the unladylike sound emanating from her, he offered to go upstairs to find them something eat. Just as he was about to go upstairs the door to the shop opened again.

Neville Longbottom was perhaps the last person they ever expected to see walk into their shop. Seeing him standing just a few steps away was very awkward. Hermione felt sick to her stomach. What was going to happen? Was she about to have another uncomfortable moment like she had with Harry earlier in the week? When he walked straight up to Rabastan, she felt even more nervous.

"Lestrange, I think it's time you and I had a conversation."

His voice was steady and strong. Rabastan nodded. There was no way he was going to turn him away. He held the door to the flat's staircase open for Neville. As their visitor started to climb, he turned to look at his wife with unblinking eyes. He seemed nervous, but followed Neville.

Every second the two wizards were gone Hermione was an anxious wreck. Many times she was tempted to throw her customers out of the shop to be able to run upstairs to check on them. Time moved so slowly she worried she was going to go mad. After half an hour that felt at least ten times as long, the door opened abruptly. Neville exited alone. She couldn't help but notice his clenched and bleeding fist. He kissed her cheek on his way out.

"Lovely to see you again, Hermione."

Not caring that she was leaving the shop unattended, she ran upstairs. Rabastan was easily found in the bathroom holding a towel to his nose. It was broken. She pulled his hand and the towel back to fix it.

"Episkey."

The charm easily healed the nose. It looked just as it always had. All of the blood was easily cleaned off his face with a wet towel. Seeing his clean skin again, she could tell he was embarrassed.

"Are you all right? What happened?"

Rabastan sighed.

"I'm fine. Mr. Longbottom and I had a conversation that needed to happen."

"And he hit you in the nose?"

"Once in the jaw too, but I don't blame him. Far less than I deserve."

When she had him cleaned up and he took a healing potion, she didn't know what to say or ask. He kissed her forehead with a promise that he was fine. The shop bell ringing again reminded her that they still had customers downstairs.

"Go downstairs. I'll be down shortly."

Another half-hour passed before Rabastan came downstairs with a smile that seemed just a little too bright. He kept himself occupied and away from Hermione for the rest of the day. She tried not to take it personally, understanding that he needed time to himself. Pushing him for answers or herself upon him wouldn't do either of them any good.

It was a relief to close the shop up that evening. When all was secure and lights were out, she carried Buzz into the office where Rabastan was calculating the day's sales. She sat quietly on the settee with the kitten on her lap waiting for her husband to say the first word. Moments after finishing adding the receipts, he took off his glasses, and spun the chair around to face her.

"Since I know you're about to explode with curiosity… Mr. Longbottom asked me to tell him about the night his parents were attacked."

"And you told him?"

"Every single blasted detail I could remember. He deserved to know. When I was finished, he punched me twice, swore to me if I ever hurt you, he'd kill me painfully and then left."

Rabastan had to smile. There was a great deal of respect in his face as he recalled Neville's actions and words. Hermione rolled her eyes. She didn't understand men at all. Likely she never would.

For the rest of the night Rabastan was in a pensive mood. Of course she couldn't blame him. Bringing up the memories of that awful night couldn't have been easy. Buzz seemed to be a good distraction for him too. Clearly he didn't get the kitten just for her benefit. They both needed him.