Chapter Three: Reunion

Normal POV

CRASH! A rumbling noise jerked Hermione away from the movie she'd been so happily watching. Groaning, she proceeded to bang her head against the table, slamming the 'Pause' button on the remote. She'd been enjoying the peace and quiet, the only sound coming from the television, where the movie "Underworld" was a now a frozen image.

"Damn you Karina! Can't you control you own daughter?" she exclaimed as she ran past her cousin, who was busy autographing a young man's book. Why in God's name she'd agreed to let her cousin have her book-signing event in her store was beyond her. "Selene?" she called out, heading to the source of a high-pitched, joyful scream. "Please let nothing be broken…" A wave of relief went through her as she saw the extent of the damage the toddler had done. A book display had been knocked over, a series of books now strewn across the floor, but nothing more.

Selene sat on the floor next to a pile of books, squealing with joy as she pushed them around the floor. Shaking her head, Hermione knelt to pick up the small girl, who threw her arms about the older woman. "C'mon love, let's get you to mummy." The child yelped in joy and nearly tumbled out of the arms that carried her when she saw her mother behind the table. Shaking her head, Hermione waved to her cousin, before returning to the mussed up display.

She straightened the display, placing a picture of the author back in place. Gathering the books in her lap, she sat down, the long peasant skirt she wore spreading out around her. She began to place the books in their proper order, absently starting to hum a song as she worked. It wasn't until she was done that she noticed that someone stood over her, casting a shadow around her. As she rose to her feet, she noticed the shadow. For a moment, it baffled her. Surely her own wasn't that large…

"Ma'am?" The deep voice startled her, and she whirled 'round to face the owner of the voice. As she did, her hand spun out, making contact with the man's face. A loud 'smack!' emanated from the slap and her hand flew to her mouth, her eyes widening in shock. The man was thoroughly stunned, completely unexpectant of the unorthodox greeting.

"Goddess Bless! Sir I am so sorry!" Hermione rushed to apologize to the man, her voice adopting that high-pitched tone it always got when she started panicking. "Are you all right! You startled me; I wasn't expecting anyone to come up be…" Her voice trailed off as she began to ramble on how she expressed her apologies once more. She only stopped when she noticed the man didn't appear to be mad at her. In fact, he was….grinning!

Yes, he was grinning. She hasn't changed a bit…. was the thought running through his head at the moment. She's still the same Ol' Mione…rushing to apologize when she's done something wrong. He began to laugh, a deep rich sound that, for some reason, sent a chill down Hermione's spine. Something was familiar about it, though she couldn't figure out why.

"There's no need to be sorry Miss. An honest mistake, that's all." As he spoke, he stepped closer to her, bending to pick up a lone book she'd missed. Glancing down at it, his grin widened. "Just the book I was looking for." Looking back up at her, he raised his eyebrows, gesturing towards the counter. She must have looked confused for a moment for he pointed at the book, then the counter. "Miss, mind if I…buy the book?"

"Oh! Of course, follow me please." Hermione exclaimed, hurriedly walking towards the cash register, the man following close behind her. As she lifted the bar to walk behind the counter, she took a moment to take him in. He was dressed in a casual outfit, an unbuttoned plaid over shirt, and beneath it, a white wife-beater that clung to his muscular torso. He'd donned khaki cargo shorts that ended just past his knees. Jet black hair flopped messily over his head, his bangs falling slightly into his eyes. She didn't realize it at the moment, but the black hair obscured her vision of sparkling emerald eyes.

She kept her gaze down as she rang up the price of the book, placed it in a bag and handed it over to him. He paid with credit card and as he handed her back the receipt, her eyes widened as she saw the name signed at the bottom of the slip. Written in a jagged signature she'd know anywhere was the name Harry J. Potter. "Harry…"she muttered in disbelief. Her head shot up, but he was already heading out the door. She threw open the bar to the counter and raced to the door, flinging it open and rushing out. Her eyes scanned the crowd, hustling up and down the busy sidewalk, but she couldn't find him.

"Harry…"she repeated, a slightly smile spreading across her lips. She turned to go back into her store when a flash of black caught her eye. There. Bobbing along among the crowd was a tall figure, black hair atop his head and an unbuttoned plaid shirt wavering in the wind. Her smile grew and she let out a joyful shriek. Heads turned to stare at her. She heard of mutters of 'It's that crazy Granger woman', among other things, but she couldn't care less. After five years, she knew Harry was back. Her gaze flew back to the receipt in her hand and she almost shrieked again when she saw a small note scribbled on the back.

It read: 'Mione

Surprised? Driftwood 8 tonight?

Harry

Stunned, she made her way back into her store, almost as if in a trance. Hermione barely noticed the strange 'What the bloody hell has gotten into her?' look Karina gave her. No, she simply made her way into the back room, sat down, and clicked on the movie once more. Moments later, when the door to the room slowly creaked open, she turned not to face her cousin. She held out her hand, which still contained the scribbled on receipt.

He's back…I can't believe he's back! After five years? Questions without answers, thoughts without ends scrolled through the witch's mind. The one that stuck the longest was the last. After five years, why was Harry back? And why had he deliberately come to her bookstore? She couldn't answer those questions, but tonight, at her dinner with Harry, she fully intended to find out.

With wide eyes, Karina handed the receipt back. After schooling at Hogwarts, her cousin had often talked of Harry Potter, more commonly known as The Boy Who Lived. Of course Karina herself had finished her schooling at the prestigious school a mere three years before Hermione, so she'd never had the chance to meet Harry. Sure, she'd caught a glimpse of him at Quiditch games, or bustling down the hallway with a small, gangly redheaded boy trailing along beside him. But she knew just how fond of him Hermione had been. They'd gone out for a time, but it had ended abruptly, once Harry returned from fighting Lord Voldemort.

She didn't know the exact details, but she didn't really care. Sitting down beside her cousin, she leaned against the counter. "So? Are you gonna go?" she questioned eagerly. When she got no reply, raising an eyebrow, she waved a hand in front of Hermione's face. "'Mione? Don't make me shake you to get an answer!" But shake her she had to. Karina gripped her Hermione's shoulder and proceeded to give her a hard jerk, bringing the girl back to reality.

"Yes, I'm going. I've not seen the man in five year. I've questions I want answers to." She said bluntly, never taking her eyes off the television screen. "The shops in your care for the rest of the afternoon. You can lock up right?" With that she pushed herself away from the counter and flew out the door, her long skirt swishing as she walked away, leaving Karina to sit there, pondering.

As the Grandfather clock in the hall struck seven o'clock, a jittery Harry paced the floor of his London Flat. It seemed to him, eight could not come fast enough. He'd been acting on impulse, asking Hermione out once more, after all this time. He'd spent half the previous night struggling to find what Bookstore she'd be at for the Book-signing. Until the wee hours of the morning his eyes had been glued to the laptop, tracking down the witch. When he'd stumbled across the young author/mother Karina Cooper, shock had overtaken him. It turned out that Mrs. Cooper was hosting a Book-signing at her cousin, a Miss Hermione Granger's Bookstore.

The shrieks of joy emanating from the Foyer had woken Leena, who was staying with Harry while her parents were out of town. Groggily, the girl had trudged down the steps and into the room. Seeing her Godfather prance around the Foyer had been a disturbing sight according to her. A grimace contorting her face, she'd griped momentarily at Harry, shaken her head and gone back to bed.

Now however, the girl lounged in a La Z Boy Chair, attempting to calm her frantic Godfather. "Will you relax? You're going to end up wearing a hole in the floor! Gees, does being impatient run in the Potter family?" Rising from the chair, she walked into the kitchen, muttering under her breath. She left her Godfather to fret as she silently picked up the phonebook off the counter. She leafed through the pages, searching. Once she found the name, she picked up the phone, dialed the number.

"Hello, Miss Granger? This is Leena Johansen. I understand you have a date with Harry Potter tonight?" she spoke into the phone, and waited. There was a short pause before a clear voice cautiously replied.

"Yes….yes I do. Who is this exactly? How do you know I do?" Hermione asked from the other end of the line. Footsteps sounded from the hallway, and Leena bit her lip.

"My name is Leena. Harry's my Godfather. Right now he's pacing around the house because he's a nervous wreck." She continued to tell Hermione of her plan. How she'd called Driftwood and they would deliver food around 7:40. Hermione just needed to be there around 7:20-7:30. As she finished, Harry emerged from the hallway.

"Oh haha Karee! I'll see you then!" Leena said hurriedly. She hunt up the phone, laughing. "Oh hey Potter." Smiling, she bounded out of the kitchen. Harry raised an eyebrow, and noticed the open phone book. He moved to shut it, barely noticing the page it was opened to, or the name that had been circled ¾ of the way down.

Puzzled, Hermione placed the phone receiver back down. Her eyes shot to the clock. "7:10, she said be there by 7:30." She said aloud to herself. Rushing back to her room, she threw open the door to her closet grabbing the cut-off sleeve red dress hanging in the back. Quickly, she stripped off her clothes, slipped on the dress.

Waving her hand in the direction of the radio, it clicked on, a song filling the room. She recognized it as "Praying For Your Love", though she couldn't identify the artist. Her own voice joined in as she began to sing along, all the while dragging a brush through her hair. Once that task was complete, she moved on to apply her make-up. A hint of blusher, mascara, eye shadow, and a touch of gloss to her lips, and she was ready. The song was coming to an end as she donned her matching red heels and a black overcoat.

"…And I know that you don't love me

But I can't change the way I feel.

So I go before the Goddess,

To pray that I shall heal…."

Singing along with the last few bars of the chorus, she clicked it off, rushed out the door, locking it behind her, and making her way towards her car. Leena had given her the address over the phone earlier, so she knew where to go. On the way, she muttered a small prayer that the evening would go well. Pulling up before the Flat, she stopped the car and got out. She couldn't really recall her feet carrying her up to the door, but before she realized it, she was ringing the doorbell.

From somewhere inside, she heard a voice call out. "I'll get it!" And then the door was being jerked open, before her standing a young girl. Curls cascaded down the girl's shoulders, in Auburn Red curls. Green eyes gazed at her from a delicate face. Her skin was a deep rich colour, most likely from a Cajun ethnic background. It was a strange contrast to the hair and eyes, obviously an Irish one.

"Miss Granger?" asked the girl in a hushed voice. When Hermione slowly nodded, a smile broke out on her face. "Come in. Come in!" The girl grabbed the hand, pulling her inside. "I'm Leena. Hey Potter!" She called out, removing Hermione's coat. Turning around, Hermione saw Harry walk down from the kitchen.

"What is it Lee…" He froze as he saw Hermione standing there, in his Flat. Smiling broadly, he approached her. "What are you doing here?" She didn't have time to answer, for Leena interrupted, quickly explaining her plan. Once done, she quickly excused herself, leaving her amazed Godfather and Hermione to stare at each other, neither moving. Hermione nervously shifted her weight from one foot to another.She couldn't help but wonder what was to happen, what strange things were to top off this strange day.