Chapter 12: Revelations and Reunions

Hermione was able to make it through her work week but was lost in a daze. She only cared to focus when she sat down for dinners with Maggie. The night Lucius came to see her was the last time she had contact with him. No visits, no delivery requests, and no glowing white roses. She mentioned a portion of the night's events to Maggie. Only his surprise visit and their walk around the village, but Maggie seemed caught up in her fantasies about Charles and how well their first date went.

"He's so funny. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much around a guy. And he's a perfect gentleman—holding open doors for me, pulling out my chair for me, and even sending me a lovely bouquet the other day after our date."

Hermione managed to crack a smile. "That's amazing, I'm so happy for you." But the only thing she could think about was Lucius. Why had she not heard from him all of a sudden?

It was Friday, and Maggie was out completing a few last-minute delivery services before the weekend. Hermione stayed behind and managed the store. Since his visit, she wondered if Lucius would make another surprise appearance. She was still having a hard wrapping her head around the idea that she longed to see Lucius, a man she used to avoid at all costs, who hated her and her friends.

She wondered what they would think of her if they knew she was thinking with Lucius as if any of them would understand. Often, she would tell herself to leave that portion of her life behind, but for some reason, she felt like she would see them again one day. The possibility of rekindling any relationship between her and her friends was the only reason she decided to apply for this job. Now, it felt like the only thing that kept her around was Maggie and Lucius Malfoy.

The day slipped through Hermione's fingers as she finished helping a young man with a fitting for his brother's wedding. She gazed out into the streets of Hogsmeade and considered the tone of the sky. Maggie had been out since morning, and Hermione began to wonder how many deliveries she had planned. Just as Hermione was about to dust off the bars of the track lights, the bell to the door chimed, and in floated a letter.

She snatched it from the air, no doubt in her mind that this was the work of magic. She wondered if it was from Lucius and eagerly turned it over to see her name written in beautiful cursive letters. Her hands trembled as she slid her thumb through the top of the envelope. Her heart sank as she pulled the letter from the envelope and began reading.

"Dear Hermione,

I won't be back till later tonight. I'm meeting Charles for dinner after finishing my last delivery. I hope it's alright if I have you close the store, just for tonight. Feel free to close the store an hour early and make some Friday plans!

I owe you one!

-Maggie"

Hermione's arms fell to her sides as she dismissed the idea. As if she had any plans tonight. She envied Maggie and her suddenly steady dating life. She put the letter on the desk and plopped into one of the blue armchairs. With a long sigh, she imagined Maggie out on the town, having a blast with Charles and the two of them holding hands and making plans for the future. She questioned if she would ever have a steady relationship again, wondering if the effort would even be worth it. So far, her love life had never been more complex.

She rested her elbows on her knees and cradled her chin on her hands. She wasn't upset with Maggie for going out, but she wasn't looking forward to the endless boasting that was to come. She slapped her forehead and scolded herself; it wasn't Maggie's fault that she had no plans tonight, and she shouldn't be so selfish. Maggie treated Hermione like she was her sister or daughter, and before Tuesday, Hermione had never seen Maggie so happy.

She pushed herself up from the chair and walked behind the desk to see if they had gotten any late delivery requests or orders, but nothing was in the faxing tray. She felt pathetic as she stood there feeling sorry for herself. It wasn't like she didn't want Friday night plans, but who could she go out with? There was no way she was going to reach out to Lucius. Besides, he would probably say no if he even gave her the courtesy of responding. She tapped her fingers on the desk and waited.

The day was almost over and Hermione concluded that she would close the store early and spend the rest of the night in bed. She locked the front door and turned off the open sign. She closed a few of the blinds and headed up to her bedroom. She flopped down onto her bed and stretched out her arms and legs. As the minutes ticked by, she attempted to make out shapes and patterns in the texture of the ceiling. Suddenly she heard the melody of laughter come from outside.

As she approached the window, she could see a group of people in the village streets as they shoved and laughed with each other. She rested her forehead against the window and sat along the windowsill.

'They seem so happy,' she thought to herself.

"That should be me." She said to no one. She hit her head against the glass and groaned, then looked over to the dresser, longing for a white rose to appear out of thin air. As she studied it she noticed a few articles of clothing hanging from the sides of drawers. She left the window and stuffed a few of them back inside until her fingers ran across something coarse and black. She gripped the fabric and pulled out a dazzling sparkly, strapless, black dress.

"I completely forgot I had this." She said, thinking back to the night she bought it. Before going back for her final year at Hogwarts, her mother had taken her out shopping. Hermione had tried the dress on for fun but fell head over heels in love with how well the dress complimented her physique.

She held the dress up to her chest and remembered the way she felt when she saw it on for the first time. Something sparked inside of her that made her twirl in the middle of her room, still holding the dress to her chest. She imagined herself in the arms of a tall man who knew how to lead her in a sultry waltz. Her hair would be curled and her eyes would be painted black. Her lips would be a stunning shade of crimson and her essence would be enveloped in the fresh scent of sandalwood and pine.

She stopped, still clutching the dress to her body.
Then she made the decision.

She wasn't going to wallow over Lucius tonight. Her goal tonight was to pretend she was someone else, in a different pair of shoes. She threw the dress onto her bed, grabbed her wand from her dresser, and ran to her bathroom. She looked into the mirror and flicked her wand in a refined circle over the crown of her head, and suddenly her hair blew back and fell into a stunning set of curls. She tapped her wand against her lips and tried to remember the spell her mother taught her that would help her conjure the perfect makeup look.

Hermoine stood in front of the set of mirrors down in the store, pulling and pushing different parts of the dress so that it contoured her body the way she wanted. She did a small spin and observed herself from every angle. Her eyelids were painted with a gorgeous mix of black and red eye shadow that glittered in the light as she spun back around. She smiled, examining the whites of her teeth and smudging off any red lipstick she might have missed.

Her heart was pounding with excitement as she threw her coat on and walked out into the cobblestone roads. "Okay," she said to herself. "I'm pretty sure Maggie brought me this way." She headed down the street and recognized a few shop names as she trusted her gut to get her to the old abandoned bar Maggie had brought the two of them for her birthday. She came to an intersection and considered each way. The sun was now behind the roofs of the shops, and Hermione could no longer see anything familiar. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the movement of her body the night they went out.

She turned left and followed the path until she saw the old abandoned building with an old rocking chair sitting on the porch. She smiled and sighed in relief, the haunted-looking structure was a sight for sore eyes. Carefully, she took hold of the wobbly railing and made her way up the old rickety stairs. Dirt and dust stirred up into the air as she slowly creaked open the old wooden door. She stepped lightly through the rooms until she spotted the old organ piano in the corner of the large room. Next to it was the small end table with the battered teal teapot sitting neatly on top.

Hermione sucked in a deep breath and reached for the teapot. Suddenly the room spun and swirled into puddles of grey and blue, creating incredible pressure in Hermione's chest until she stumbled onto the sidewalk in front of the Witching Hour.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that crushing sensation." She whispered to herself. The streets were flooded with people, more than what she remembered seeing the night of her birthday. She did one final pull at the bottom half of her dress and ran her hands over her hips and waist. The music was so loud inside that she could feel the bass in her chest before she reached the entrance. Once she was inside it was as if she had stepped into a sauna. She went and found an empty barstool at the bar.

The woman behind the counter had long black hair with strands of green and blue peeking through. She had to weigh no more than 120 pounds and her tiny pale arms were covered in tattoos; black and grey on one arm, and an array of colors on the other. She finished wiping a spill and came down to Hermione's section of the bar.

"Hi, my name is Isabella, I'll be helping you tonight. What can I get started for you?"

The last time Hermione was here Maggie had ordered the drinks for the two of them. "I'm sorry, I've been here before but I can't remember any of the names of drinks."

"Can you describe the drink? Maybe I can help you figure it out." She smiled, and Hermione noticed the two piercings on either side of Isabella's lower lip.

"It was in a tall glass, it was red at the bottom but pink at the top. Oh, and it had cherries in it!"

"Was it fizzy?"

Hermione nodded and Isabella got to work on her drink. Her hands were supple as she tossed around a silver mixer and pulled out two different types of alcohol. She poured each one into the canister then took out a bottle labeled grenadine and drizzled the gooey syrup over the top of a single ice cube. She took out a hose from the top of the bar and topped off the glass. She tossed in four cherries and handed the glass to Hermione.

"This is called a Cherry Bomb, it's my favorite drink here."

Hermione took a sip of the drink and immediately recognized the rich cherry flavor and the bitterness of the alcohol. She gave Isabella a thumbs up and plucked out two cherries from the top of the drink.

"Are you here by yourself?" Isabella asked, putting the bottles back on the shelf behind her.

"Yes," she admitted. "My friend went out with her boyfriend tonight and I didn't want to be stuck alone at home. So I decided to be alone here!" Hermione and Isabella laughed and Isabella ducked beneath the bar and pulled out two shot glasses.

"Well, you're not alone here. I'm allowed a few shots on my shift, so let's do one together. What's your poison?" She walked back to the wall filled with different colored bottles.

"Uh, I'm not a big drinker so I'm not sure."

"Got it." She pulled a medium-sized bottle off the shelf and filled the two shot glasses. "Tequila it is!"

She handed one of the tiny glasses to Hermione and lifted hers into the air. They chipped the glasses together and both launched the shots into the back of their throats. Hermione's face felt like it was melting as her throat and shoulders started to burn. Her face turned sour and Isabella couldn't help but laugh.

"Damn, I guess you really aren't a big drinker." She smiled and began to wipe the inside of the now-empty shot glasses.

"I told you that." Hermione shivered and coughed as the alcohol began to settle in her stomach.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I think I just need to get used to it." She shrugged, but Isabella just shook her head.

"No, you don't want to get used to something like that." She smiled and winked at Hermione as she tended to another customer. Even though they had just met, Hermione liked Isabella. She wondered if Isabella also attended Hogwarts, she looked to be the same age, maybe even a bit younger.

She picked up her pink glass and spun around on the barstool. At the head of the dance floor was a girl with two bright yellow pigtails standing in front of a soundboard. She held a pair of headphones against one of her ears and bobbed along to the song. The crowd seemed to enjoy it by how many people left the bar and headed to the dance floor. She sipped on her drink and began people-watching as a man took the barstool a few seats away from her and ordered a drink.

She nodded along with the beat of the song until she slurped down the last of the delicious cherry beverage. She turned back to the bar and waited for Isabella to head back her way. As she waited for Isabella she drowned her ears in the murmur of loud voices and the clinking of glasses.

"Hermione?"

The shout came from the man a few seats down. A distinct voice, once intimately familiar, like an echo that haunted her from her past. She looked down the bar and immediately noticed his ocean blue eyes and the tuff of red hair that glistened beneath the pink and purple lights moving around the bar.

"Ron?"