The Librarian, the Grocer, and the Blind Woman
A/N I know I have unfinished works to tend to and I fully intend to continue Hidden Behind Blind Eyes, A Mother's Love, and A Taste of Chocolate. If there are others you'd like to see continued, please let me know. For example I am totally stuck on A Loving Family. Unfortunately with writer's block, any of these stories mentioned are hard to write without being stilted and so I would love a review or two with constructive criticism at the worst about how I could continue them. The first three I mentioned will likely receive the most of my attention unless I make a huge breakthrough. This one came to me in the same well of inspiration that Hidden Behind Blind Eyes did, although it's a love story, and I'm trying to make up for the failure of Amarantine. I really hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think.
Chapter 1 Returning Books
The library was currently empty, so the head librarian took advantage of this by returning all books and cassettes to their proper shelves using magic. With a flick of the wrist, books sorted themselves, cassettes found their way into the right holder, and record sleeves straightened out. He was smartly dressed in a pair of charcoal slacks, sensible black shoes, and a cream colored shirt with a turned up collar. He'd been working here for 8 years now, preferring a muggle job even though the war was over, and he had always wanted to work in a place like this anyway. He had just finished sorting books when the door opened and in walked a witch he thought he'd never see again.
After the war, it had been discovered that Hermione Granger's mind was too fragile from all of Bellatrix Lestrange's torture, that she couldn't go on living a normal magical life. The unspeakables reasoned that if they obliviated all signs of the magical world from her body, and got rid of as many marks and scars as they could, her mind would fill in the gaps with the muggle knowledge she knew. To top it all off, somehow, and the librarian didn't know how, they had transported her back in time to her eleventh birthday. Of course this time, she had no magic to speak of.
Looking at Hermione Granger now he felt a barbed spike of pity go through him. The now squib standing before the desk had a white cane in hand, the one not holding her library bag. She wore a backpack on her back, he assumed it was for the rest of her supplies, maybe shopping. He cleared his throat softly and tried to act professionally.
"Hello Miss, I am Mr. Lupin," he said as calmly as he could. "How may I help you today?"
"Mr. Lupin?" She asked in confusion. "When I come in here, Usually Miss Pines or Mr. Shepherd are around to assist me."
"They've stepped out for lunch," said Remus, noticing that deep down his voice was affecting her in some way. "I'll gladly help you return those books. I'm the head librarian."
"Oh," Hermione said with a blush. "Thank you. It's unfortunate they have no more audio books in the series I was reading. Mrs. Pines said there were three more but the library didn't carry them."
She held out the cloth bag, trying to stem her flow of words. Remus noticed as he took the bag from her that she wasn't as bossy as she used to be. This Hermione was very hesitant and fragile. He doubted the unspeakables had done her much good. She must have been bullied so much especially when she went mysteriously blind. His wolf howled as he replaced the books with magic. She would never know, except she did twitch toward him.
He thought sadly of her clone, the Hermione who had gone to Hogwarts, lived her life up until the war and then had been put into a magical coma at Saint Mungos. The clone would be able to see, but there was nothing in her brain but raw magic held together with a fragile body that even now was middle aged and dying. He had only visited the clone once, lying there on the bed, full of magic but not a spark of real life. She looked to be in her mid-twenties. He rested his face in his hands and he cried.
"Must protect mate," growled his wolf. "Must make whole."
Remus returned with a new audio book already in Hermione's library bag. He explained that it was by the same author and that she should enjoy it. She slung the bag over her shoulder as he explained that each of the book series were connected in some way but you could read them as standalones.
"Thank you Mr. Lupin," she said as she pulled the door open. "I appreciate your help. "I must get to the green grocers before it's too late."
"Goodbye, Miss Granger," he replied, picking up the phone and dialing Sirius's work number as soon as she closed the door.
"Star and Company, how can I help you?" came Sirius's voice from the phone.
"Verry funny sweetheart," said Remus, sinking into his chair and sighing. "Hermione Granger just came into my library and she's headed your way."
"You mean our Hermione right?" Sirius asked, deadly calm. "The Hermione you claimed the first time you laid eyes on her on the train? The Hermione who saved my life and who I will forever and always love because of it?"
"Honey," said Remus, trying not to cry as he was about to tell his volatile friend the news that their soulmate was blind. "She has no sight. She's blind. When they took her magic and her memories…. I don't know how it happened but when you go and help her today, respect her space. She's been coming to this library for ages and I didn't even know. Who knows how long she's been going to the green grocer?"
"Stop crying moonybear," said Sirius, trying to keep his voice under control. "I just saw her walk in the door. Wow she's so damn beautiful. I'll go help her and I'll let you know how it goes tonight okay?"
Remus nodded even though Sirius couldn't see him. Even so, the dog animagus must have taken that as a yes as the dial tone sounded in his ear. Remus wiped his face and glared at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't have long to brood though, as the library soon filled up and he returned to his work. It was children's hour and he took it upon himself to read them a story, all to keep himself busy until closing time. Once it was time to lock up, he let out a grateful sigh and disapperated into the middle of the house he shared with Sirius.
Remus immediately spotted the shot glasses and the bottle of fire whiskey. His next observation was that Sirius hadn't even cracked open the bottle. In fact his friend hadn't even taken his uniform off and was hiding his head under the couch pillows.
"Starshine, come on and get up," said Remus. "Now's not the time to cry. You'll get me started again."
Remus pulled the decorative but still soft pillows off Sirius's head and pulled him to a sitting position. Their relationship was complicated. If there had been no Hermione, Remus and Sirius would have been mates no doubt about it, but there was and is a Hermione. Thus, even though they called each other pet names and loved each other, they weren't in love with each other. If they could get Hermione back in the equation, well they would both love her in their own way and that was it. They had many years to talk about love where Hermione was concerned. Some ended in literal bloodshed, some ended up in drunken whimsy.
"I saw her Moony," Sirius said finally, cracking open the bottle of fire whiskey. "What a lovely lass she was too."
"We always knew that," Remus replied, testing the waters.
"She's changed," said Sirius. "She's so adorably shy, and yet knows what she wants. She's determined but not swatty."
Remus smiled as he downed a few shots of the fiery liquor with his friend. They needed to figure out a good way of getting her into their lives on a more permanent basis. Their best hope was that she would continue to regularly return to the same library and grocery store. Remus grinned to himself, deciding to put in an order for a number of books in the genres he had seen her reading.
"Hey Padfoot," he mentioned off-hand. "She reads fantasy. "Maybe we can do something with that hmm?"
Sirius nodded, then got up to make supper. Remus put away the bottle of fire whiskey, then took over from Sirius, who had almost burned his apron. That damn dog couldn't cook with a few shots in him. He pecked the top of Sirius' head, and though he loved the man with all his heart, right now all he could think of was coaxing Hermione to love them both.
"You know she's a squib now," Sirius piped up randomly. "And she doesn't know about magic. She probably thinks the magic of soul bonds would be just fantasy, like in those books she reads."
"Not to mention there are two men who love her," said Remus dully as he set out a pot of stir fry. "That might scare her off even more."
As the two men tucked into their suppers, they had no idea what would lie ahead. They could only hope that if they were confident but kind, generous but not over baring, then maybe they could win her over. After all, she was their soul mate, nay their soul bonded and they needed her like a man in the desert needed water.