Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This is all work of fiction and imagination.
She paced back and forth stopping every five minutes before glaring at the helpless door. She bit her lip, her hand hovered before the wooden mahogany to knock, anxious for a reply. She dropped her hand as nervousness washed over her calm demeanor. Sighing, she walked over to her belongings perched on the second step of the marble pavement. She sat down and blew the hair off her face.
"I think I'm crazy" she told herself, the wind howled as an answer to her musing.
Her eyes wandered back catching a leaf fly by her side dancing in the wind, through the pathway she walked on just merely minutes ago. The pathway adorned with cool-hue colored tiles merges with the quiet neighborhood street looking so detached to the boring gray pavement.
She looked down at the paper crumpled by her sweaty hands reading the words '# 27 Siren Street Shell Cottage Village' written in a very elegant script. Her mind boggled at the mere memory of how this arrangement came to be. She sighed.
The house wasn't relatively big, but small was not the word for it. 'It looked cozy,' that she had taken note of the first time she saw the place from afar. The white painted home was not what usually old village houses look like. This was so detached from the series of cottage type houses she passed by earlier. Shell Cottage Village was known for its old English style houses that stood usually at the center of several acres of land with gates as long as their lawns. But this house, it was modern, like you stepped out of the Old English culture to an American culture. The house looked nice and Hermione could only hope about the owner.
"Well it's this or the slumps" her head hung in defeat.
She stood up, taking a very deep breath and walked up the door once more. Her hands shaking just mere millimeters over the door.
"Excuse me?"
Hermione's head turned, gulping nervously, to the direction of the voice. Her eyes caught sight of hair black as a raven's coat and curly as a porcelain doll's. Her snow white face framed with them. She was stunned. This woman in front of her looked like a genuine doll in gothic-themed leather clothes. Her features perfect. Perhaps she was godsend...
"I-I...Um... Hi" she started pointing awkwardly between the door and the person holding the keys. She was utterly caught by surprise that word could not form. Her words continued as air as her mouth was unable to open or close.
The keys jingled as the woman walked past Hermione.
...or just a snobbish bitch.
What the bloody hell is wrong with you? She scolded herself. The woman would actually think you're crazy or something. She added to herself debate. She inhaled deeply, catching her cool self.
"Um." Hermione tried again.
The woman turned to her, acknowledging her presence, a bit grudgingly— Hermione noticed. "I'm just the keeper. Well, actually this is my neighbor's house. She's away for the weekend so to speak" she told the confused brunette. Hermione could only nod. If she was the keeper, why did the owner tell her to come here on Sunday? Will she have to look for a place to stay until the real owner arrived? The smooth voice of the raven head grabbed her attention from her thoughts.
"You must be the boarder" she simply said. The door swung open and two dogs rushed out to greet the raven head. Running around her feet. "Watch it you damn dogs" cursed the woman. Hermione watched as the woman juggle the brown bags on both her arms.
"Mind if you could?" her eyes motioned to the bags she held. Hermione hurried to her side and grab the one on her right. After setting down the groceries, Hermione and the stranger walked back to the porch.
"Well, terribly sorry for letting you help out" the young brunette nodded slowly. She took in her surroundings yet again and noticed the empty garage driveway. The sinking feeling of being embarrassed enveloped her. Being stood up was one thing she wasn't used to. What was she going to do now? Will she wait in front of this house? Or will the lady be kind enough to accompany her while waiting for the owner?
"No worries" Hermione softly replied. "If you don't mind me asking—"
"Go right ahead, love" from her pocket, the raven head pulled out a pack of cigar, "Do you mind?"
"No, not at all"
The raven head took a breath from her stick and inhaled; momentarily after, she exhaled a puff of smoke. The cloud settling upon Hermione's face before completely disappearing. Hermione was a bit mesmerized by the action, by the way the raven head lips press the cigar in between pearly white teeth. Upon realizing she was bluntly staring, she immediately shook away her thoughts while a blush lingered momentarily "I was wondering, when the owner will be back?"
Black bore into her brown eyes. Sending a slight chill on Hermione's spine. "She'd probably be back tonight" she paused as she took a breath of smoke once more. "Bellatrix, by the way" she held out a hand.
"Hermione" she returned the gesture, feeling the strong grip the woman had.
"Pleasure" Bellatrix drop her cigarette and smashed the butt with her heel. She stretched and went back into the house. Hermione waited, her mind following her previous thoughts. Who in the world would leave a total stranger alone in her perfectly modern and expensive house? The owner must be crazy to trust someone she completely didn't know, even if the supposed to be boarder— her— was the niece of her old friend. Hermione couldn't grasp the idea but she was glad. Glad that someone was this kind.
The ring of the keys alerted her once again, pulling her from her thoughts and analyzing. When she looked to her side, the keys were dangling in front of her.
"What's that for?" Hermione said, her brows furrowed.
"Darling, these are your keys, and here" Bellatrix pulled out a paper from her back pocket and handed them to Hermione. "Instructions" the raven head simply said.
Hermione opened the letter, elegant scripts met her. They were the same ones as the one of the address. "Thanks"
"I'm going now. I still have other business to attend to" she said, her back towards Hermione. She was walking away, soon fading behind the hedge before Hermione could ask more things.
"Well, that was helpful" Hermione could only sigh. Bending down to pet the dogs that naturally rested on her feet.
The house was quiet, it was something that she had been accustomed to. There was no one to wait for her at home so she usually spends the long weekend away from it. She usually spends it with her officemates, with Bill and Sarah, partying on beaches or visiting the Weasley's.
Her house was cozy that was sure but for her it wasn't home. It never was. Her home consisted of her sister and her grandmother. Her home was still France. The quiet streets of Paris and the small alleyways of the old cities. The clear sunny skies not the dark cold and gloomy streets of England. Sighing, she quietly drove into her driveway. Turning the ignition off. She grabbed her coat and suitcase from the passenger side.
The business trip was definitely tiring, even if it was just on the farthest outskirts of the city. England sure has a lot of old mansions, having acres of land the stretched to the horizon— she never complained about it because for her they meant big accounts. She grabbed her laptop bag and slammed her car door with her free foot. She didn't bother to lock the car and headed straight to the door.
Her keys jiggled and barks from her dogs reached her ears. Malt and Sugar greeted her. She laughed as her two young Alaskan malamute rubbed their faces on her legs.
"Alright, alright, I'll feed you" she chuckled. She dropped the keys on the nearest countertop. Her brows furrowed as she noticed that there was a note lying wide open accompanied by a plate with food wrapped perfectly in clear plastic, she glanced over the dog plates and they were half filled.
Her eyes moved to the counter and went to pick up the note. It was her handwriting and there were lines scratching out words on it. It seemed that she had forgotten something. Something important. Suddenly, her phone vibrated.
"Fleur" she spoke up.
"Hey" came the voice from the other line. "Seems to me you're home now"
"Hey, Bella" she bent down and played with her dogs, her phone clutched between her ear and shoulders. "Would you mind filling me up on what transpired today?"
"Straight to the point as ever" Bella mused. "Your boarder came in"
"My what?" Fleur raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
"And you seem to always forget important stuff" Bellatrix could only sigh on the other line. "I wouldn't blame you though, you were in a hurry at that time because you were running late. Well anyway, you proposed to take in your old friend's niece until she could reconcile with her parents about her apartment privileges or something"
"Oh, right, Rowena asked me over coffee. How could I forget!" she chuckled as she reminisced the short coffee she had with Rowena and Bellatrix.
Her mind wandered back to the old times when she and Rowena met- in France. Rowena was an old friend she met in college. Both of them studying Accounting and Business but Rowena was her senior by three years. They became fast friends with same interest, interest which she did not dare to speak of again. As far as she remembered Rowena was happily living in France with a man- who was sketchy in her mind even though she was a bridesmaid in their wedding- not until one phone call a week before. Apparently Rowena had to come back to England to pay respect to her deceased father and that her young niece was temporarily homeless and that she could not provide help for she was going back to France the day after they met over coffee.
"So where is she now?"
"You mean the brunette brat? She's probably resting in your spare room" Fleur walked around her house. Her dogs have retreated back to their own beds and slept, the house was quiet now. She looked at the time and saw it was one in the morning. The kid was probably asleep by now.
"Really, Bella? Only you can describe teenagers as brats, she can't be that bad" She went back to the kitchen and grabbed the plate of food and placed it in the microwave. The soft glow of orange illuminated the kitchen. She went to the fridge and grabbed a glass of water.
"I don't know, but she has looks and curves in the right places" she chuckled. Fleur choked on water as soon as she heard those words escape her friend's lips.
"Don't you even dare" she warned in between coughs. She could only hear Bellatrix's amused laughter from her phone. The beeping sound motioned her to grab the now hot plate. The smell took her instantly, it smelt divine and now she felt immensely hungry.
"I got to go Bella, I'm going to eat and head to bed. I just hope my dogs weren't much trouble for you"
"Your dogs are such a darling" Fleur could easily hear the sarcasm in it and only chuckled. With soft goodbyes she placed her phone on top of the counter. She grabbed the plate and went into the living room to watch some shows and rest before heading to bed. As soon as she was about to set the plate on her living room table she noticed a figure laying on her sofa. Her heart thumped, nervous perhaps? She cautiously approached the figure, opening the lamp standing beside her sofa.
Brunette as Bellatrix described. Only one thing was definitely wrong in this picture. She knew her, there was no mistake.
Hermione smelt food. It wafted into her nostrils making her dream of dancing fried chickens. It smells familiar like something she cooked earlier that night and it was tasty that her physical stomach grumbled and made an annoying gurgle. She stirred from her slumber, her eyes barely open to catch the orange light the lamp had illuminated.
Strange. She thought. I closed everything before I crashed here. She shrugged. She sat up from her sleep and rubbed her tired eyes. Her tired gaze momentarily looked around. Guess the owner's still not in. She thought. Her vision became clearer and the surrounding became vivid allowing her to take in the scenario before her.
Her eyes widened as her eyes fell in line with blue ones.
"Good Morning, Cherie" French, perfectly good French. Hermione thought. Her brain's gears were now working double time for her to comprehend what was happening.
"I must be dreaming" she mumbled. Hermione rubbed her eyes again only to find the woman still sitting before her.
"You're not, Hermione" she simply said. "I checked" she followed with humor. An awkward silence fell between them.
"My aunt must've messed up" Hermione said hurrying to her feet. But before she could bolt outside, slender fingers stopped her. Sending sparks that caused both of them to jump. When she thought the grip would loosen it quickly gained strength. Hermione stiffened immediately, scared and nervous.
"No, please, Hermione" the woman said, her voice sang to Hermione making tension leave her body. "Your aunt did not make a mistake. I am Rowena's friend"
She looked at the woman, worry in her eyes. She also felt embarrassed. Invading people's lives just because of a dumb mistake. She wasn't supposed to be here. Intruding her regular customer's home wasn't in her to do list that day. Fear also struck her, fear that this might change their relationship entirely. More to the pessimistic side of it.
"Fleur." Hermione breathed. This wasn't supposed to happen, they were supposed to meet only in Charles's and continue flirting— if that was what they were doing. The moment they have in the shop was the only thing she wanted, well maybe she wanted something more out of passing notes between each other with compliments and little bits of information, it was slow but it just felt right with Hermione. But this. Moving in with this woman was an entirely new level. This was way out of her league and this is something she can't do. She suddenly felt ashamed of herself, being so stupid that she had to stoop so low and ask for a stranger's help. "I— I can't do this. I can't accept your help even if you're my aunt's friend" She tugged her arm away from Fleur and started to gather her things.
"Hermione, wait, where are you going?" Fleur stood up and raced to the door. "You're not thinking of leaving, are you? It's barely morning and it's still dangerous to go out at this hour"
"I'm really sorry Fleur, for intruding like this. I don't know that you're my aunt's friend." she paused, running a hand on her hair. "This is so messed up" she mumbled. Frustration was getting to her and she didn't like it one bit. She grabbed her phone and browsed through her contacts. Alas finding the number she needed she dialed it. It rang once before her phone was snatched from her.
"No, non, non" Fleur shook her head, waving the phone in her hand before completely shutting the phone off. "None of this early in the morning, you are going to stay here whether you feel embarrassed about it or not" she firmly stated causing Hermione to jump back from the authority of the French's voice.
"But—"
"I have already agreed to take you under my wing until you resolve your problem. Rowena expect that I hold on to her hopes that you'd be okay" she softly said, reaching for Hermione's hand. Hermione did not dare to look at Fleur, still feeling ashamed of everything. Of her fucked-up life. She hated it but what can she do. Fleur was right, she had no place to go and even if she called Ginny that night, Ginny wouldn't be able to answer because she knew Ginny was one heck of a heavy sleeper.
Hermione groaned. "This is so not what I expected" she mumbled to herself. Fleur took her by the chin and raised Hermione's gaze to meet hers. The swirling blue in the French eyes drowned Hermione momentarily. Captivating was the thought that ran in her head.
"I'm really sorry about this Fleur—"
"But?"
"—but you are right. I can't go out in this cold and it's barely morning. I can't even expect Ginny to answer my call." she slowly said. "I'll be out here by morning" she silently added, even though Fleur heard it she let it slide off.
Fleur could only sigh. She knew Hermione was feeling frustrated and ashamed. Whatever she's telling the young brunette now wasn't being heard. "You can make it up tomorrow. We will talk about this again after we both had rest. I'm beat and you still look tired. Please, accept my help even if it's just for tonight" she whispered. Hermione did notice that Fleur's fatigue and agreed. She felt Fleur squeeze her hand, feeling assured she let the blonde have her way for the night.
She let her things down and placed them near the sofa. "I'm sleeping here" Hermione stated.
"No you're not. Use the room upstairs, next to mine. You are a guest" Fleur clasped their hands in those few moments and dragged the young girl upstairs. She showed her the bedroom. Cozy and lush. Hermione could not possibly accept any of this house owner's accommodation. She knew Fleur had money but this house, this kind of living style was too much for a teenager who had petty problems with her parents. She stepped back bumping into Fleur.
"I—I change my mind. This is just too much, Fleur."
"Hermione"
The girl gulped and went inside. "bonne nuit, Hermione" the door closed with a soft click. Hermione could hear the other door closing as well.
"Night… Fleur" she fell on the bed, as soon as the soft cotton comforter embarrassed her she went back to dreamland. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she had to straighten things out. Tomorrow, she would leave Fleur.
