Back to the Curio Shop
The prospect of the continuous presence of Lucius Malfoy, after everything Hermione and the dolls had read about him, spooked her.
She decided that whenever she or Harry went to the shop, they'd be disguised. She told her family that her correspondence with the Luna girl had convinced her Mr Malfoy was stalking the Curio Shop-girl with murderous intent.
Her father contemplated having his cousin who lived in Northern Ireland bring his pistol back and illegally lend it to him, but he wasn't practised with it, and it would, of course, get them all sorts of grave legal trouble, and perhaps worse, attention, if it had to be used.
The couple applied for two licenses to use short self-loading rifles. Because they desired rapid action, they were only allowed to own .22 rimfire calibre weapons, so Mr Granger decided on two Anschutz XIV carbine .22LRs.
They were short and light enough to have at least a sporting chance at swinging them up in response to a deadly attack by the wealthy Death-squadder.
While Hermione continued to exercise, practice her wand-work, and maintain her football skills, the Grangers would grimly practice shooting. They'd taken old cushions and quilts and sound-proofed their basement, and at first had planned on using sandbags as a backstop, but were convinced by the sporting club Mr Granger had contacted to use a regulation steel one, which was rather expensive, but preserved the integrity of their basement wall.
They had already decided to forego both vacation and home improvements, and not to take any new patients, for the duration of what was shaping up to be a crisis.
After just one day, it became obvious that if Hermione was going to go to the shop any time soon, that one of the Grangers would have to have the rifle out and basically ready to raise to the window of the car, rest it there, aim slowly and carefully, and fire, since proficiency with a "whipped out" rifle was not going to come soon, and they'd almost certainly injure themselves rather than the criminal. Still, it was at least possible, and they could be moved quickly, and didn't have a strong kick.
Harry and Hermione had both had their hair tinted slightly auburn. In Harry's case, he'd also had to put up with Hermione curling his hair. "Now I thank goodness for having tea with your dolls, Hermione," he joked, "because it taught me that tagging along with you means very girly things!"
Meanwhile, Hermione had used a deep conditioner overnight, and then in the morning applied a home remedy from her grandmother. She used a paste of plain yoghurt and baking soda cut with a small amount of lemon juice. Combined, her frizzy hair became soft curls quite similar to Harry's hair.
She'd also considered the "Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and Scalp Treatment," but was worried it would leave some sort of magical trace she was able to only vaguely conceive of. If they didn't have to make many trips, it would be far cheaper than coloured contacts, after all. It was hard, being an eleven-year-old girl living under a hidden fascist aristocracy. She never knew, she reflected, if she was being too worried, or not enough.
Fortunately, it was sunny for a fall day in Britain, so they were both able to wear tinted glasses. If they could get access to some of Harry's money without alerting anyone (a big "if"), Hermione decided they'd look into prescription coloured contacts for Harry and non-prescription for her.
However, while Hermione worried about testing their disguises and testing the waters with Selene as they approached the shop, it turned out that right ahead of them they saw Aberforth Dumbledore. That person, Hermione told her parents, would keep them safer than anything she or they could come up with. Her parents were surprised to see that a member of the magical community was wearing normal, if somewhat old-fashioned outdoors gear, including a knapsack and Wellingtons. He wouldn't have been out of place, especially where he lived in the Highlands of Scotland, if you'd seen him out hiking or hunting.
When they entered the shop, Selene looked Hermione over from head to toe. Then she looked her in the eyes and shook her head. With Luna's warning in her head, she decided she would follow Aberforth's lead and simply treat the shop as a shop. The clerk had probably seen the desperation in Hermione's eyes to talk about her future, and rejected it.
Harry sidestepped the issue by thanking Selene for the dolls. The girl beamed at him and told him he was welcome, and just the sort that should have them.
The old wizard completed his shopping quickly. Then, as the Lovegoods had done before him, he suggested the Grangers and Harry join him at a nearby cafe to talk. They decided to walk over to a Pret a Manger that was only 3 blocks away via Great Turnstile. The thought that a Lucius Malfoy wouldn't be caught dead in a Muggle chain coffee shop made Hermione laugh. That ended when she remembered that Anton Dolokhov and Thornton - no, Thorfinn - Rowle had attacked the other Hermione and Harry and Ronald Weasley in a cafe, not a mile from where they were.
Selene brought out a covered birdcage from behind the counter when they were ready to leave. When Hermione and Harry got permission to peek inside, they saw a shallow stone bowl covered with what she now recognised were Elder Futhark runes. What looked like smoke or steam came off of it. It tended not to rise beyond a certain point, and definitely was not escaping the cage. What a clever way to disguise this, Hermione thought.
The price made Mr Granger jump. Mrs Granger sighed and said, "Thank goodness we hadn't planned on a big vacation this year." They didn't quibble, beyond that. Things had already gone well past birthdays and allowances. Hermione's eyes stayed wide, and she whispered to her parents that the shop was probably losing a considerable amount of money on the sale.
Mr Granger showed where Hermione got some of her intelligence. He opened the back of the car on the way, placed the cage carefully on the seat, and fastened the seatbelt around it. "Never put a budgie box in the boot, girl!" he said, with crinkled eyes and a broad grin. "So, I take it this thing is worth it?" he asked, and when Hermione nodded, he didn't belabour the point.
All of them made perfectly normal orders at the Pret a Manger, and Aberforth Dumbledore seemed quite at home. It was interesting, but also added to her opinion of Albus Dumbledore as, if not an evil overlord, at least a highly unreliable narrator, that his brother was friendly and polite to the Muggle staff. Where was the bitter hermit she'd read about?
All the boys ordered the "famous ham with cheese sandwich". Mrs Granger and Hermione settled for an egg salad with arugula. There were coffees all around, which excited ten-year-old Harry. Mr and Mrs Granger just rolled their eyes at each other.
After they'd had a chance to eat and drink a bit, Hermione noticed Aberforth's hand twitch slightly. He obviously noticed her noticing, and said, "if you will all be so good as not to raise your voices, we will likely not be overheard, or even unduly noted."
With that said, he pulled out an old journal and put on somewhat old-fashioned, but not Victorian, reading glasses. He glanced over the book, then turned to Hermione, and said, "Let us review."
