Chapter 5: Out for Delivery

Before she knew it Hermione had been at Maggies Tailoring for almost three months and she was excited that she was getting the hang of things. She would open the store on the mornings Maggie would be out delivering, helping customers with all their fitting needs, and sold suits, and dress robes of all kinds. Dean must have kept his word since she never saw another familiar face come into the store; something she was always worried would happen. Hermione and Maggie were getting along great—both of them very thankful for the other.

It was Saturday, which meant they would be closing the store a couple of hours early to complete delivery services to anyone who couldn't match Maggie's early schedule. Hermione was rearranging a few stray suit pants and dusting off their shelves when Maggie came out of the kitchen.

"Your birthday is coming up," she said as she hung some newly pressed robes. "We should celebrate!"

Hermione just laughed to herself and continued dusting off the shelves. It was true, she would be 22 soon but she hadn't thought much about celebrating it in any kind of way. A part of her did hope that this birthday could just slip by without any acknowledgment. She threw the dirty wipes into the trash and straightened out a few more robes, but Maggie wasn't going to let this go.

"Come on Hermione, you haven't gotten out of the store for longer than an hour to grab food and supplies. Let's go out and have a little fun together!" Maggie wasn't wrong. It was true that Hermione hardly left the store and when she did it was brief.

She was still anxious about Ron finding out she ended up moving to Hogsmeade instead of returning home to London. She winced at the thought of the two of them seeing each other in public. She didn't know if she would be able to take it, even if it were just in passing. While their breakup was becoming more stale, there were still nights where she wondered if he slept well, or if Harry and him ever got back to being friends.

Hermione thought more about what Maggie said. 'Maybe it would be good for me to get out of the store for a little,' she thought. 'If not for me then for Maggie.'

She gave a big long sigh. "Okay," she told Maggie. "I guess one night out wouldn't be such a bad idea."

Maggie was thrilled. "Yippee! I'm so happy you think so, and I know of a great place we can go."

For once, Hermione was a little excited. It was about time she did something other than work, sleep, and eat.

Maggie bundled a few new sets of threads together and stuffed them into her traveler's pouch. "I'll be back in a few hours, Mrs. Humphrey's husband recently passed away and her boys need a touch-up on their robes before his funeral."

Hermione was about to apologize but Maggie stopped her. "Don't worry!" She said. "Mrs. Humphrey despised her husband after he snuck off on a cruise with an old secretary of his. They've lived separately ever since but remained married because Mr. Humphrey refused to pay her any alimony." She gave Hermione a wink and left the store.

A thought suddenly sprang into Hermione's mind. She ran up to her bedroom and grabbed her coat. She flipped the switch on the open sign to off and stuffed her arms into the sleeves. She quickly locked the front of the store with the key that was in her jacket pocket and looked around for Maggie who didn't make it very far up the street.

"Would it be alright if I joined you?" She shouted as she ran to catch up with her. "You did mention that eventually, you'd like me to take over most of the delivery services anyway."

Maggie's face was beaming with so much joy it could light up the quidditch field. Without saying a word she looped her free hand through Hermione's arm and they headed up the street together. The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky into a beautiful purple and orange mixture like sherbet ice cream. She wondered if Ron could see it too.

'No,' she thought. 'I'm not going to think about Ron right now. I'm going to enjoy this time with Maggie and not let the intrusive thoughts bother me.'

Mrs. Humphrey had a beautiful house that must have had 20 bedrooms and bathrooms. Two grand staircases looped up to the second floor and between them was a gorgeous set of matching golden couches. The house elf escorted them through the house into what would usually be considered a sunroom if it had been daylight. Mrs. Humphrey spared no expense in this room when it came to its antique paintings and jaw-dropping furniture. In the corner of the room was a large grand piano with black and gold features.

Maggie went ahead up to a large woman who sat beneath one of the large windows. She gave a small curtsey and motioned for Hermione.

Mrs. Humphrey had light brown hair tied up into a high bun with a beautiful diamond clip holding it in place. She looked Hermione over with a wrinkly pair of brown eyes and extended her hand as Maggie introduced the two of them. Hermione gave Mrs. Humphrey a light curtsy while Maggie pulled a stepping stool in front of one of the large couches.

"It's so good to hear you've finally hired a second person, Maggie." Mrs. Humphrey said as she walked to the edge of the room and called up the stairs. "Boys! Get down here and bring Maggie your robes!" She turned back to Hermione and Maggie with a posh-like smile, her nose turned up ever so slightly.

Maggie began to arrange two sets of dark blue and black threads along a marble end table. "I'm incredibly thankful to have found Hermione." She smiled and gave Hermione a little wink.

Two teenage boys pinched and poked each other as they entered the room. Mrs. Humphrey clapped her hands together and sneered at the two of them. The boys placed their robes on the couch behind Maggie and Hermione.

"Don't mind them please Hermione, they're distraught over their father's passing." But Hermione could see otherwise, and if the story Maggie had told her was true she thought they must have not had a pleasant relationship with their father before his death. How could someone do something like that to their wife and family?

Both of the boys dressed down into a set of long sleeves and pant undergarments. Maggie pulled out the first set of robes as the first boy stepped up onto the step stool. He had similar features to Mrs. Humphrey but with a face full of new and old zits and instead of brown eyes there were blue. Hermione began to measure his arms and wrists while Maggie measured his calves and ankles, both of them pausing after each measurement to scribble their numbers down into a small spiral notebook.

"I'm very sorry to hear of your husband's passing," said Maggie as she measured the width of the boy's thighs.

Mrs. Humphrey gave a small little scoff. "No reason to apologize dear, he left me with two beautiful boys and a large amount of money. It was a good thing I never gave him his divorce." She sat on the couch behind them and adjusted her peach-colored gown while crossing her knees. Hermione measured the boy's shoulders and torso and scribbled a few more numbers down into the notebook.

"Well," Maggie started, "I must say you're handling this event with such grace, Mrs. Humphrey." She had the boy step down so that his brother could step up.

As Hermione and Maggie took the same measurements, Mrs. Humphrey ranted on about how horrible her marriage had been—how the affair had been a devastating blow to their family, but she knew it was a matter of time. Hermione and Maggie finished up the boy's measurements and began working with the two together with their dress robes on, ready to cut, sew, and pinch where needed.

Mrs. Humphrey let out a deep sigh. "I can't say the same for Lucius and Narcissa." She shook her head and sucked the back of her teeth. As Hermione began to pinch the dress robes against the boy's ankles her ears couldn't help but perk up, and she couldn't figure out why the pit was forming in her stomach again.

"I'd heard they were no longer together," Maggie replied. She held a needle between her teeth and pinched the back of the other boy's collar to cinch it closer to his shoulder. "It's too bad, they made such a cute couple."

Hermione had to fight back an eye roll. How anyone could think such a thing about Narcissa and Lucius was beyond her. Mrs. Humphrey leaned forward as if she were about to spill a big secret. She kept her voice low and said: "I heard Narcissa had been cheating on Lucius for quite some time. Poor thing, it was an absolute blow once Lucius found out."

Hermione's brain couldn't keep up with her thoughts. "Lucius Malfoy crushed? That's hard to believe." Her face and neck felt hot and she couldn't believe she'd said that out loud. She looked up at Maggie and Mrs. Humphrey. Their eyes narrowed for a moment before Mrs. Humphrey pointed at Hermione and said:

"I thought the same thing!" Hermione's shoulders fell, relieved there was no real target on her back after her slip-up. "Lucius Malfoy never seemed the type to care about anything but power and money. I guess I was wrong." She put her hands up in surrender.

Once Hermione and Maggie were done with the alterations they had the boys dress back into their normal clothes so they could get to work on the fine adjustments. They both sat on their knees with scissors and threading tools while Mrs. Humphrey was still on the couch. The two of them listened as Mrs. Humphrey carried on.

"Ever since he found out about Narcissa, Lucius completely let himself go." She said. She waved her hands around as she kept ranting. "It's like he's a completely different man now! I heard he's freed his house elves, hasn't been spotted with the Death Eaters in months, and hardly leaves his home in Wiltshire." She folded her hands on her lap and nodded.

Maggie and Hermione looked at each other in disbelief. Hermione's hands began to shake as the knot in her stomach grew tighter. She held it together as she finished up the dress pants and moved on to the dress cloak. She wondered if she should tell them the story about her running into Lucius—how odd it was that he didn't slew insults at her, and even offered to help her.

"I've only seen him a handful of times since Narcissa left with their son, and it's very clear that he's let his appearance go. Lucius was such a desirable treasure before the two of them got married." Mrs. Humphrey fanned herself off with her hand. "If I hadn't been married already I would've gone after him myself."

Maggie giggled and snipped a long piece of thread with her scissors. "I think he's quite handsome still," she said, a rosy color flushing her cheeks. Hermione's head shot up as she looked at Maggie in utter disbelief.

'Maggie thinks Lucius Malfoy is handsome?' She wondered. 'Does she know how awful he is?'

Mrs. Humphrey laughed and slapped the tops of her thighs. She agreed with Maggie and said: "HIs long, silver hair is gorgeous isn't it?"

'Gorgeous?' Hermione's head was reeling. 'They're using beautiful words to describe such a hateful man. It doesn't make sense.'

The subject changed as Hermione and Maggie continued with the boy's dress robes. It was light talk of Maggie's Tailoring and how business was around this time of the year. Hermione didn't have much to say, she'd only been working there a few months. Occasionally Mrs. Humphrey would ask Hermione things about herself, but it hardly created a conversation between the two of them.

The sky was a midnight blue once the two of them finished the robes. Mrs. Humphrey thanked the two of them for coming and fitting the boys on such short notice. Maggie reassured her that it was their pleasure to help, wished her luck for her late husband's funeral and they began their walk back to the store. The backs of Hermione's legs were burning from her sitting on the floor for so long. The air felt brisk, but not freezing. They didn't say much to each other as they followed a moonlit path back to the store.