A/N: Special thanks to the guest who left the only review for last chapter. You're the only reason I posted. Therefore, please leave more reviews, and maybe I will post more often. Thanks.

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Chapter 5

And So, She Shopped

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The grocery store was an odd experience. She had been before, many times, but never to a British grocery store in the 80's. Biting her lip, Laura did her shopping carefully, avoiding anything but a polite "excuse me" to the people around her. She had attempted the Wizarding markets earlier that week but they were just so… loud, and strange. Everyone wanted to socialize and be in your business. She'd spent about an hour there before giving up and going home to try again later.

This, though, was familiar enough.

Almost painfully so.

The people here, while removed from her own time, were far more benign and ordinary than the wizards she'd been surrounded by for the past couple weeks. They didn't make magical airplanes zip into her office, or heat their tea with a wave of their wand whilst talking about last night's Wizarding Wireless brodcast. They just took a can of beans down from the shelf like a normal person, not floating it down with magic. Something deep and heavy stirred in her gut.

She drifted through the aisles, thankful for the relative quiet. There were a few children in the store but they seemed to be mostly pacified by their mothers, though one large young boy was caterwauling every so often from the direction of the candy section. Laura frowned in their direction, as the mother didn't seem to be trying to calm her son in the least, continuing to add bags of candy to her already bulging cart.

Laura was not in the least inclined to ever have children. In her heart, she was still twenty two. Dolores herself was only five years older, though the woman should have had kids several times over with the way she tried to, well, coerce certain people.

Laura clamped down on those particular memories with an iron-like vice and refused to acknowledge them.

I am not her. I didn't do those things. Everything is fine.

Her fingers were a bit white. She released her grip on her basket and wiped her hand off on her newly-acquired jeans, taking deep calming breaths.

Focus on now. Focus on what you need to do.

She collected a number of canned goods, as well as a lot of fresh meat and vegetables. Food lasted a lot longer under magical preservation methods, and she wanted to stock up now while she was there. She wasn't sure she wanted to make frequent trips to the store if she didn't have to, though there wasn't really anything stopping her. She supposed she was lucky, in a way. Dolores lived alone. She had no immediate family or even friends to fool. Everyone knew her tangentially. Even Merilyn, who had been Dolores' assistant for three years, was too terrified of her to attempt to truly know her.

It was sad, honestly.

Laura finished her shopping at a leisurely pace. The store buzzed around her, the low hum of the overhead fluorescent lights adding a droning quality to slow her down. She checked out with her groceries while having a polite -if stilted- conversation with the store clerk, and paid with some of the money she'd gotten exchanged. It was a little awkward as she wasn't overly familiar with the currency, but she made it work and collected her change.

Laura gathered her bags and exited the building to the sound of tinkling bells. She stopped on the curb, and looked around thoughtfully. That hadn't been so bad! Relaxing, honestly. Only a few things to spark Dolores' memories, since the other woman had never stepped foot in such a muggle place in her life. She was looking forward to coming here more often. It would be easy since she could just apparate to and from, but since she had come the Muggle way the first time she hadn't yet found a quiet and hidden place to do so. To the left of the shopfront was a tiny copse of trees that bordered a small park, but they weren't thick enough to provide the cover she needed. On the right was a quaint little flower shop, but there did seem to be a narrow alley between the two buildings that might work.

Might be a bit tight to turn with all my bags, but I can shrink them…

Laura looked around to make sure no one was watching, then made a quick step into the alley.

It was dark, and more narrow than she anticipated. Cigarette butts littered the dirt, probably the remnants of some wayward employee's smoke break. Bags of trash were stacked around a bin buzzing with flies. She stepped over them, wrinkling her nose, when one suddenly moved.

"Oh-!" Laura yelped as what she'd thought to be a trash bag looked up, startled, and jumped to their feet.

"Sorry!" It was the voice of a young child, talking quickly to pacify her. "I-I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Laura felt her pulse start to slow after the initial shock and relaxed a bit. She breathed out and lowered her hand from her chest, where she'd been clutching her shirt in panic.

"Oh g-, I almost stepped on you! What on earth are you doing sitting down here in the dark?!"

The child looked up at her, eyes shadowed behind ridiculously unkempt bangs.

"I'm really sorry," He repeated emphatically, "my aunt asked me to wait outside. I didn't think I'd cause any problems back here. I didn't mean to scare you."

Laura smiled reassuringly, her eyes taking in his appearance. He was rosy-cheeked and dwarfed by a large jacket that was probably too warm for the weather.

"That's alright, hun. I think we just about scared each other, didn't we?" She glanced down. He was holding a stick in his hand, and something was outlined in the dirt. It was a little scuffed from her minor heart attack, but it was clear he'd been doodling something. She knelt down for a closer look.

"What were you drawing?"

He shifted from foot to foot, pausing for a moment before warily responding. "Just a motorcycle. I think they're cool." His tone was defensive as if he thought she'd react badly.

"They are cool." Laura agreed, and he marginally relaxed. " I am sorry for nearly squashing you, I just didn't expect anyone to be sitting here. I hope you don't have to wait long for your aunt."

"Thanks." He offered her a small smile, then glanced in the direction of the storefront. "She'll be done soon, I think."

Laura hummed thoughtfully. "Well, that's good then." She wanted to say more, but his body language was telling her he didn't want her there. She supposed he may have been an introvert. "Good luck with your drawings!" She waved goodbye and continued down the alley. The boy crouched down and continued sketching.

It was a tad odd, Laura thought, that the boy was content to wait in this dingy alley instead of shopping with his aunt. But maybe he was shy, and did better on his own. Laura herself had memories of doing something similar while her father was hunting. She'd been raised a little wild, honestly. Drawing in the dirt, braiding blades of grass. It reminded her of her childhood.

And it was the eighties, so she supposed it wasn't as unusual to leave a child unattended. Her mind filled in the blanks, and she didn't linger long on her thoughts.

Laura soon found a place to apparate home.