Author's Note: I own no person, no place, no thing. If you recognize it, it probably belongs to Ms. Rowling or some other awesome super-human.
Chapter 03 Alone
In the waning light of the autumn afternoon, Draco walked home his usual four-block route from the Library. He'd already picked up a scone and a styro-cup of tea from the coffee shop next to the Library, and with these two items in hand, he hurried home in anticipation of yet another evening of… nothing. Reading, staring out the window at the late afternoon and evening walkers and runners that passed his living room on the Park's jogging trail, writing to Mafalda, worrying about his attackers, examining the scars on his hands, etcetera, etcetera… Yes indeed, another amazing night in the wildly exciting life of Draco Malfoy.
Draco sighed as he climbed the stairs to his flat. The loneliness was definitely getting to him. He wished he'd been able to stay in touch with at least one of his old friends from school. Blaise and his family had disappeared in that horrible summer after Sixth Year, and of course Theo was in Azkaban. There wasn't anyone else from his former House who'd be happy, or even alive, to hear from him.
As for members of the Order, Hermione Granger was the only one close to his age who'd ever even had a halfway amicable conversation with him. Maybe he'd ask Mafalda about Granger the next time he wrote to her. At least he could count on Granger's infallible politeness to respond to a letter. But then again, was Draco even allowed to contact people in the Wizarding World? He'd definitely have to clear that with Mafalda. Merlin knew, that woman didn't permit any rule-bending. When she'd sent his hundred pounds and Scar-None request back with a very stern note that, as a Muggle, he was not permitted to use magical potions, and that attempting to bribe a Ministry Official was a Class 3-A Felony, he'd given up on asking her for help of any kind – the ruddy cow. But now, he was getting desperate.
So, Draco figured asking Mafalda about contact information for Blaise, Theo and Everyone's Best Buddy Granger would be the topic of his next letter. Surely Theo was allowed to write? Oh well, a bloke could hope. Draco figured Theo had to be the one wizard in England that was lonelier than him.
Draco sat down on the edge of his couch and pushed his loafers and socks off of his feet. He picked through his most recent stack of books he'd brought home from the Library, selecting a book on the history of motorcycles. He absently flipped through the pages until he found the diagrams and glossy photos that had appealed to him when he'd found it the other day when he'd been re-shelving Returns. The mechanics he definitely didn't understand in the least bit. Spark plugs, v-twin engines, compression ratios, it was like reading Dutch or Russian – but the photos! Now there was something to consider. One thing Draco really could appreciate was the evolution in the photos, from black and white to full color, and the changes in sleekness and appeal to the shape of the motorcycles. Muggles really were creative when it came to transportation. He'd seen several motorcycles or varying styles trundling through town, and damn it, it looked… cool. Draco couldn't think of a more appropriate word. Motorcycles looked cool.
Two women were running along the pathway that meandered past Draco's window. One was pushing a double-stroller with two little girls with curly blond hair. Twins, probably. Draco wished he'd had a twin. Or at least a sibling. Maybe if he'd had a sibling there'd be someone here with him. He liked to think so anyway. Of course, with the shit job Lucius had done raising Draco, he figured the chances were at best fifty-fifty that any sibling of his would be decent. Chances were actually more likely that if there had been another Malfoy, they would have risen to be a new Dark Lord within a week after Voldemort died.
Draco shuddered. Gods, maybe it was better not to have a sibling.
/…/
Hermione waved goodbye to Sue and the girls, and made her way up the trail that turned towards her flat. She was happy to have found a running partner so quickly, as running alone often left her feeling antsy, like she should be looking over her shoulder for… what? Someone running after her? Death Eaters were in short supply in Muggle parks in Little Whinging, but still… having a running partner kept her mind focused on the task at hand – running for the sake of running, not to simply save her own life.
Jogging past the Italian restaurant, Hermione's stomach and nose immediately commanded her attention. Mmmmm… Marinara… Garlic… Butter… Maybe she'd pop back down after a shower and take her dinner down here. This week she was making a conscious effort to spend as much time out and about as possible, getting to know her new neighborhood. She'd spent the past few weeks hiding in her flat. Yes, she could admit it to herself. She'd been hiding, waiting to see if anyone showed up at her door. Death Eaters, Reporters, Weasleys… And so far, her carefully crafted exit from the Wizarding Community had worked.
She'd paid the Goblins nearly 100,000 galleons for each of the three custom doors she had to pass through to enter her living space. Much like the sword of Gryffindor, the metal of the doors would absorb any spells or potions cast upon them, making them stronger. No wizard or witch would get through them without her permission. Hermione liked to think that this would be enough to protect her privacy from the more casual unwanted visitors. As for the less casual ones…
Well, hopefully the less casual visitors were looking for her in Sydney, not Surrey.
Two hours later Hermione pushed a twenty pound note into her waitress's hand and waved a good-evening to the hostess. Twenty pounds was an awful lot of money for a dinner out alone, but the two glasses of merlot she'd had with her risotto had been well worth it.
"Oi, Hermione! Your book!"
Hermione turned to see her waitress, a girl close to her own age named Lisa, hurrying after her. Hermione's copy of Justice Hall, her favorite Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell mystery novel was in her hands.
"Oh my! Thank you Lisa! That's my favorite book in the series! I would hate to lose it!" Hermione clutched the battered book to her chest.
"I can see that," Lisa said wryly, eyeing the scotch-tape binding and tattered corners.
"It's a brilliant series, really, you should try it!" Hermione said brightly. "You like Sherlock Holmes don't you?" Hermione already knew this because they'd talked books on several occasions since she'd eaten under Lisa's care. "Imagine Holmes takes on a young female apprentice, and they have grand detective adventures together, and there you go!"
"Really? A girl Watson? That's an abomina-" Lisa's indignation was cut off by Hermione.
"Oh no, she's not a girl Watson, the girl's name is Russell, Mary Russell, and she comes to Holmes after he formally retired, when she's just fifteen. When he finds that she's just as brilliant as he is, he takes her under his wing as his apprentice detective. Watson's still around, but not in the same capacity since he and Holmes aren't at Baker Street anymore…"
"Oh well that's different, then. Who writes it?" Lisa reached towards the book again, and Hermione handed it to her.
"Laurie R. King is the author. You'll pretty much find them right next to the Stephen King books, since they're mystery-fiction. The first one's called The Beekeeper's Apprentice." Hermione said helpfully. She really loved sharing her love of books with people. Nothing made her happier than giving a book recommendation that someone actually appreciated. Hermione realized sadly that this had probably only happened half a dozen times in her life. That was truly pathetic, wasn't it? She felt this was just another indicator that she did not belong in the Wizarding World. No one, not even her best friends, had ever appreciated the way she was, or the things that made her happy. Now here she was, standing on a Muggle street giving a book recommendation to her waitress, for Goodness sake. And Hermione was getting a far better response from Lisa than any of her magical aquaintences had ever given her.
She really was better off alone in Little Whinging.
Lisa smiled. "You know, it just so happens that I am going to the Library tomorrow morning to return some books for my Mother. Maybe I'll look these up. Or maybe…" Lisa's smile grew. "Maybe I'll get that hot new Librarian to help me look these up. Have you seen him?"
Judging by the sparkle in Lisa's eye, Hermione figured the hot new Librarian was the primary reason why Lisa was returning her Mother's books for her. The girl was practically blushing!
"Oooh, you know Lisa, I haven't been to the Library at all yet! Where is it? I wouldn't mind checking it out. Not the guy, the Library!" Hermione clarified at Lisa's giggle.
Lisa gave her directions to the Public Library on the other end of town, and then rushed back into the restaurant to finish her shift. Hermione pulled her house keys out of her day-bag and set about unlocking her way into her flat. She'd finish Justice Hall tonight. Tomorrow morning she needed to spend some time rehearsing with her violin, but, in keeping with her 'get out more' strategy of this week, she would catch a cab to her local Library tomorrow afternoon.
Hermione smiled to herself as she keyed in her six digit passcode at her flat's front door. She hadn't been inside a Library since she'd been at Hogwarts. And it had been literally ages since she'd been in a Muggle Library. Not since she was a mere girl who lived with her parents in a modest home in a modest town that had never heard of Hogwarts, or Dumbledore, or Voldemort, or Harry Potter.
A lifetime ago, really.
/…../
Draco was sitting in the employee break room, eating his lunch alone as usual when Wanda popped her head in the door.
"Draco? I'm getting ready to head out for lunch. No dear, finish your lunch, we've got two volunteers on the floor right now and there's not many patrons in here anyway. I just wanted to let you know I brought you a bit of that Shepherd's Pie I made last night. It's in the fridge in the green container. I remember you'd said before how much you liked it." Wanda smiled at her young assistant as he nodded his head in thanks and swallowed to clear the food from his mouth.
"Thank you, Wanda, that's very kind of you." Draco smiled at his boss, who patted his shoulder affectionately. The poor boy needed a Mother. Wanda hated that he was all alone in the world, even though he was technically an adult he seemed so helpless! She waved goodbye to him and went to retrieve her bag from under the Information Counter where she normally worked. As she was walking out the door she saw a couple of giggling college age girls craning their necks and looking down the aisles. Were they looking for someone? Then it occurred to Wanda: the girls were looking for Draco! That's what the boy needed! Obviously not one of these giggling teens, but a good woman. Every man did need one, and Draco was a prime target for a good matchmaking. No, it did no good for a man to be alone. And he really was a nice boy.
/…../
It was pitch black in Hermione's room when she woke up with a scream tearing out of her throat.
"HARRY!"
She sat up in the middle of her big, lonely bed with her blankets tangled around her legs, and cried for her lost friend. It was the same dream nearly every night. The two of them running hand in hand through the woods, or down a village street, or through the hallways of Hogwarts, when suddenly he'd be ripped away from her. And then he was just gone, and she was alone. No one else was left. Not her parents, certainly not Ronald, and no other friends that she'd ever been able to count on.
Hermione sniffled and scrubbed her eyes, then tugged her legs out of her blankets and off the bed. She padded to her kitchen in the dark, and flicked on the dim light over her stove. Setting the tea kettle on to boil, she glanced over at the kitchen clock to check the time. It was already after five in the morning. Well that was a blessing, surely. She'd made it through nearly a whole night. The sun would be up soon, and with the dawn would come a new chance for her to get out and conquer this new life of hers. She didn't have plans to meet Sue to run again until next week, and she just went out for dinner at the Italian restaurant downstairs yesterday…
Then she remembered her conversation with Lisa as she'd been leaving the restaurant. The Library! Today she would be going to the Library. Good, she had a plan. Tea, violin practice, breakfast, more violin - she really needed to make sure she had these Nickel Creek songs well in hand before rehearsal Saturday, which was now just a day away. So, after lunch, she'd go to the Library and check out their book selection, then she'd come back home and practice for a few more hours before she went to sleep.
Hermione was really looking forward to Saturday's practice. Sue and her husband and girls were wonderfully kind and friendly people, and might even invite her to eat lunch with them afterwards. That would be nice. Eating alone was fine and all, but she missed the mealtime camaraderie she'd had when she was in the Order, or at the Burrow, and of course in her school days at Hogwarts.
Ugh. Thinking about those days brought flashing images of happier memories to the forefront of her mind. Memories of belonging, of feeling a purpose, of having plans and knowing where her life was heading. Out here now in Little Whinging, Hermione felt the press of time weighing on her. She'd gotten her parents settled, she'd gotten her own housing settled, and she'd even gotten her routine settled in a healthy manner that should assure that she didn't lose her ever-loving marbles out of sheer loneliness. If she wasn't careful, time would pass, and her life would pass her by.
Maybe she needed to get a job? Hermione contemplated this as she sipped her tea and wandered over to her massive bookshelves to peruse her titles for something comforting to read. When nothing jumped out at her as being interesting enough to settle with, her fingers wandered over to her non-fiction section and picked through some Science texts from her parent's collection.
Yes, today was a good day to go check out the Public Library. She was running out of reading material here.
To Be Continued.