Life went back to normal, or as normal as it could be. Hermione returned to work, and although she loved working with books, she didn't feel the happiness she had once found in them.
It was almost like something was missing.
The nook she always sat in to read didn't hold the same appeal it once had, and Hermione didn't know how to get out of this funk she seemed to be in.
"Why don't you go talk to him? You look like a ghost, and, frankly, we're getting worried about you." George asked. "Just talk to him. He did send you a note, afterall."
The twins were worried about their friend and had taken it upon themselves to try to cheer her up. She knew they meant well, but Hermione didn't feel like they knew what to do with her.
"I don't think he would want to talk with me," Hermione said, putting away some books half-heartedly.
She was trying not to think of the note he had sent her, but it was the only thing her brain could focus on.
"You'll never know if you don't go after what you want." Fred was looking at her as if he could read her thoughts.
Between the two, Fred was the most observant one, and after Hermione had saved his life during the battle of Hogwarts, he had developed an uncanny way of telling Hermione exactly what she needed to hear. Even if she didn't like it.
"I remember how you were always looking at him while we were at Hogwarts—and how he used to look at you when you weren't looking," Fred started, making Hermione stop in the middle of the shop. "I know you think you're being brave by not going after him, but I think you're being stupid."
"Freddie…" George said, but his twin dismissed him.
"I know some people were downright awful to you after you rejected little Ronniekins' wrongly timed proposal—not to mention the fact that you weren't in love with him—and I saw how hurt you were when Mum turned on you, thinking you were spitting on her face or something stupid like that."
"Fred…" George repeated pointedly.
Fred went on speaking, "Of course, it didn't help that the dumbnits at the Ministry thought they were smarter than you, just because you thought every being had a right to better conditions." He approached Hermione and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm not saying any of this to hurt you but to tell you I understand why you're scared."
"What if he's just like the others?" Hermione asked in a small voice, looking up at Fred. She didn't want to voice her fears out loud, but this was Fred and George. Although they were huge pranksters and jokesters, they would never make fun of her for feeling a particular way. "Theo didn't remember who he was, so he wasn't acting like before. But now that he has his memories back, what if he starts acting just like them?"
George came near them. "From what I gathered from the trial and what Harry told me, I don't think he's going to be like that. You wouldn't like him if he were a snotty pureblood."
Hermione smiled a little at that, even though she wasn't sure if George was right or not. She was still a little wary of trying to reach Theo, but with the support of the twins, she may be able to send an owl to him. They could maybe try to talk about things between them.
A noise outside the front door caught their attention, and the twins and Hermione turned to look. Hermione let out a high-pitched eep and her eyes widened.
Standing right outside the door was Theodore Nott holding a bouquet of daisies in one hand and a book in the other.
And Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini—two Slytherins she had never thought would come to her small Muggle bookshop—were standing awkwardly behind him.