Happy reading!
Hermione Granger sighed as she heard the telltale sound of several books thudding to the floor. She peered towards the back of shop and saw a mass of orange fur sauntering high up on the shelves without a care in the world, bushy tail waving back and forth. She slid off of her chair and trudged to the back of the room, picking up books along the way. War and Peace. Animal Farm. Sometimes she could swear he was doing this on purpose.
She levitated the books back to their rightful spots and followed Crookshanks into the back room. She found him pawing at a little hole in the wall, straining to reach in as far as possible, and his tail twitching irritably. He grumbled as Hermione scooped him up, stroking the fur on his head.
"Really, Crooks, you know you're not going to fit through that hole no matter how hard you try," she explained to the orange creature as she made her way back to the front of the shop. He stared back at her, defiance evident in his eyes as he blinked slowly back at her.
"You need to leave poor Guildenstern alone…"
"I still can't believe they named the niffler Guildenstern," Ginny Potter said exasperatedly as she hopped up onto the shop's counter. She was still dressed in her Harpies training uniform, her long red hair pulled back into a plait. Her bag was dumped unceremoniously at her feet and a tiny practice Snitch rolled out onto the floor and under a bookshelf.
"You're never going to get that back, you know," Hermione said pointing to the bookshelf. She set Crookshanks down and he immediately darted towards the Snitch.
"Not to worry," Ginny assured her. "Luna will find it in a pile of Guild's things and send it back along with everything else the bugger has snatched."
"I didn't think Luna would take to Shakespeare that quickly, but I guess the name really stuck," mused Hermione.
"Shakes-who?" inquired Ginny.
"Muggle playwright," explained Hermione.
"Muggles come up with the weirdest names…"
"If you say so, Ginerva!" chirped Hermione.
Ginny scowled at her friend and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Just then, the tiny bell above the door tinkled as Luna Lovegood appeared to float into the shop. Her blond hair was unkempt as usual and her floor length skirts attracted the attention of Crookshanks, pulling him away from the Snitch under the shelf.
"Hullo, friends," she spoke in that ethereal voice of hers. "What's got your wackerspurts all frazzled, Ginny?"
"My wackerspurts are comp-"
"Oh, she's just mad her name is Ginerva," Hermione interrupted.
"Am not!" came the petulant response.
"Wackerspurts don't lie. Besides, Ginvera is a lovely name," decided Luna, breezing by her friends and settling in a red armchair across from them. Guildenstern scuttled out from under the bookcase, a distinctly metallic clatter coming from inside his pouch. He climbed up onto Luna's lap and kept himself busy with tiny gold buttons on her shirt.
"Enough with the names," Ginny sighed, effectively putting an end to the conversation. "I didn't come here to talk about me, for once. I actually came here to talk about you, 'Mione."
"What about me?" Hermione asked suspiciously. She much preferred it when Ginny talked about herself, much less trouble that way.
"I've come to proposition you for a date."
"With whom, may I ask?" asked Hermione, her voice painfully saccharine.
"Before I say it, I just want to remind you, don't shoot the owl, okay? Its Cormac McLaggen," Ginny said the last part in a rush as if that would make the message more pleasant.
"Absolutely not," Hermione asserted, turning on her heal and busying herself with straightening the books on the shelf closest to her.
"You haven't even let me explain!" Ginny whined.
"I can hardly fathom an explanation that would make me say yes," reasoned Hermione. "He was awfully dull in school."
Hermione recalled spending most of Professor Slughorn's holiday party hiding behind a curtain to escape his particularly bland persona. She had let him walk her back to the common room after the party, where he had stood expectantly in front of her. She managed to dodge him as he leaned in for a kiss and hurried up the stairs to her room, her face and chest flush with embarrassment.
"Oh, stop," waved Ginny. "There is no way he is that dull anymore. You know he works in the auror department with Harry, right?"
"He could work for Merlin himself and it wouldn't make a difference!"
"What if I told you that it was Harry who asked me to ask you," posed Ginny. "He says that Cormac won't stop loitering in front of his office ever since you visited Harry for lunch a couple of weeks ago."
Hermione stayed silent.
"If anything you should just do it for Harry. Poor guy is getting whiplash watching Cormac wear a trench into the floor…" Ginny shrugged.
"You shouldn't look, you know," interjected Luna. Ginny and Hermione were both unaware that she had even been paying attention. Usually Luna was happily zoned out, content to just be present.
"Shouldn't look for what?" asked Hermione.
"For love, of course. Its best when you stumble upon it," Luna clarified. "Besides, you'll throw your sprites off balance if you go searching."
Ginny stared unblinkingly at Luna, her brow furrowed, before she turned to Hermione. "Don't listen to her "Mione, not all of us stumble upon the love of our life in the middle of the Amazonian rainforest."
Luna shrugged in response, an absent-minded smile on her lips.
"It could be fun! Best case scenario you really enjoy yourself. Worst case scenario you get a free dinner...and help out Harry," she added as a calculated after thought.
"You're my least favourite person at the moment," deadpanned Hermione.
"So that means you'll do it?"
"Only for Harry!" insisted Hermione. She was determined to not enjoy herself, but there was not much she wouldn't do for Harry. And devious Ginerva Potter knew that.
"Wonderful," beamed Ginny. "So, shall I come by tonight to help you pick out an outfit?"
"Tonight?" asked Hermione. "No, I can't. I have far too much to do here."
"Right, because the three of us are being incredibly productive," Ginny said gesturing to the three of them. Luna was still lounging on the armchair, the niffler curled up comfortably in her lap. Ginny was practically laying on the counter and Hermione was mindlessly organizing books that had been organized a hundred times prior. The picture of productivity.
"I can close up shop, Hermione," said Luna. "I don't mind doing it alone."
"You mean you wouldn't mind being alone with Rolf…" grumbled Hermione under her breath. "Well, I guess there is no use in arguing. Let me grab my things from the back and I'll apparate home."
"I'll meet you in an hour," called Ginny as she hopped off the counter and collected her equipment bag. She lifted her arm and, in a most lady like fashion, sniffed her underarm. "I desperately need a shower."
"Hermione, for Circe's sake. Do try and wear something a little bit scandalous." Ginny stepped out of the closet with a strappy red dress in her hands. "What about this one?"
"I think not," Hermione said, shaking her head. She plucked the dress out of Ginny's hands and retreated into the closet to return it to its hanger. She was quite happy with the blue dress she was wearing.
"At least put on the silver heels then!"
Silence.
A silver streak came whizzing out of the closet.
"I caught it for you!" Ginny cried out cheerfully.
"Damn Quidditch players…"
An hour later, Hermione is seated across from Cormac. She must admit, he is quite handsome. His blond hair is pushed back and he is sporting a smart collared shirt and jacket. His eyes are bright and glossy.
If only his mouth would stop moving.
Since they had arrived he had talked incessantly about himself. About his job. About his family. About his accomplishments. She was surprised he didn't describe in detail his visit to the bathroom as something extraordinary must have happened to the extremely fortunate Cormac McLaggen. Hermione had learned he was moving on from his job at the ministry. More money to be made in business, he explained to her, but I don't know how they'll find someone half as competent to replace me. She had learned that he still frequently dined with Slughorn. Once favourable, always favourable! He told her that he had recently seen the Patil twins and I swear, that Padma really let herself go!
And Hermione swore she was a moment away from Avada-ing herself into sweet, sweet oblivion.
"…and my grandmother left all the land to me! Imagine that! I'm planning on building a cabin there, truly stunning in the summer," he finished explaining. He took a rather large bite of his steak, scraping the fork with his front teeth in a way that made Hermione grimace.
"Wow," she deadpanned. "That sounds wonderful."
"So…" he trailed off. "Do you want to tell me about your line of work?"
It took all her strength to not roll her eyes.
"Well," she started. "I own my own book shop."
"Really? I'm sure Harry must have mentioned it at some point…" Cormac stated in confusion.
"Oh, I'm sure he did," agreed Hermione. "But with your busy schedule and all, it must be hard to remember all the small details."
"You're probably right," he nodded. Hermione internally cringed. "I would have guessed you'd end up at the Ministry. Something to do with creature rights, or the like. What was that organization you started? Spe….Spear…Spem?"
"SPEW"
"Yes, SPEW!" he said, waving his steak covered fork in her direction.
"I thought about the Ministry for a while, but I think I just needed a break from that side of life. A book shop seemed like a nice get away," admitted Hermione, brushing a bit of meat off of the front of her dress.
"You know, my great aunt owned a rather successful book shop in…"
Hermione sighed. "Excuse me, I have to visit the ladies room."
Her chair screeched against the hardwood floors as she snatched up her purse and made her way towards the bathroom. She was halfway through a list of potential nonverbal and wandless jinxes she knew when she smacked straight into a figure coming out of the bathroom.
"Watch where you're going!" came the pitched warning. "Oh, Granger. It's you."
"Pleasure to see you too, Parkinson, you're looking especially peaky tonight."
"You know, I would usually make a nasty comment, but I'm in a particularly good mood," Pansy said, the smaller girl standing firmly in the doorway of the bathroom. "Why the rush, whom are you running from, anyways?" Curiosity finally getting the best of her.
"I don't run away from people," insisted Hermione, crossing her arms. "I am simply visiting the ladies room."
Pansy craned her neck to look behind Hermione. Her eyes settled on Cormac sitting alone at their table, looking utterly lost with no one to exalt himself to. "Ah, say no more."
"He's really not that bad," Hermione supplied weakly.
"Oh please," scoffed Pansy. "I had the misfortune of going out with him a couple of years ago. Ripping my ears off would have been more pleasant."
Hermione smirked despite herself. "I just have to make it through dessert and then I am going to maim Harry and Ginny for putting me through this."
"While that is the kind of violence I would normally condone, why even force yourself to make it through dessert?" asked Pansy, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "I can go out and tell him something urgent arose, something that needed your upmost attention. Poor Cormac would need to talk to himself for the rest of the night."
"No offence, Parkinson, but you're one of the last people who I would take a favour from."
"I told you, I'm in a particularly good mood," Pansy shrugged. "Besides, the look on his face will be entertainment enough. Really you'd be doing me the favour."
"I don't know…"
"Has he told you about his grandfather's hunting trophies yet?"
"On second thought," decided Hermione, "I'll take you up on the offer."
"Splendid," Pansy said, clapping her hands together. "Best to escape out of the back and apparate."
"Thanks, Park- Pansy," Hermione corrected herself. After all, the girl was doing her a monumental service.
"You're welcome…Hermione."
And with that, Pansy swept past Hermione, her skirt swishing as she walked towards Cormac. Hermione didn't hang around long enough to see the aftermath.
Besides, she had a certain Potter household to visit.
Thank you all for reading. I also want to thank those who favourited and reviewed, it means the world to me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter from Hermione's point of view. It does happen on the same day as last chapter, just later that night. Next chapter we'll have a mix of Draco and Hermione (potentially a meeting?!). Let me know what you guys think, please review and feel free to PM me with any comments, questions, suggestions or concerns!