FLOURISH AND BLOTTS, DIAGON ALLEY, LONDON, ENGLAND; 30TH JULY 1977

The boy looked at Hermione as if he expected her to know who he was, but truthfully, his name meant nothing to her. She gave him a tight smile and extended her hand, not knowing what he was expecting from her, but this was the wrong way to exchange pleasantries from the look on his face.

"Hermione Greengrass," she said, lowering her hand when he didn't take it. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I didn't realize the Greengrass family had a daughter," Regulus said, his head tilting ever so slightly. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen…" Hermione answered, a bit taken aback by how direct he was. "How old are you?" She snipped, feeling it was only fair to ask him the same questions he did about her.

The boy merely smirked at her rudeness, but he still obliged. "I'm sixteen as well," he answered smoothly, his voice like silk as he leaned in much closer than Hermione was comfortable with for someone she wasn't well acquainted with. "I'm curious how I've never known of your existence, seeing as you're a member of the sacred twenty-eight and, in theory, should have been at Hogwarts presumably in my year, if not my brother's."

Hermione swallowed the lump forming in her throat, stepping away from him, but her back hit the shelves behind her, trapping her. She looked between his gray eyes, feeling as if he were stripping away every layer of her, though she didn't know him well enough for there to be any layers for him to examine.

As it was, Hermione wet her lips with her tongue, a motion that did not go unnoticed by the young Mr. Black as she recalled the cover story that had been artfully woven for her to give. It was regrettable that Regulus Black was the first person that she had to repeat it aloud to as he seemed very interested in her answer.

"I was educated privately by my mother's aunt in Australia. I sat my OWLs at the ministry so that I can be placed in NEWT classes at Hogwarts this coming year." Hermione answered the question with the simple story that her parents had constructed for her.

A country on the other side of the world where no one would have easily been able to run across her. Conveniently enough, Helen did have an eccentric aunt she was close with who resided there. The aunt had been more than happy to agree with the story if anyone was inclined to ask after Hermione. Not having any children of her own, Aunt Leda had always considered Helen, more of a daughter than a niece and was tickled that she now also seemed to have a granddaughter.

"I recall my mother complaining that the Greengrass family was very secretive of their children. Not even your brother spends much time mingling with the rest of society as he should, seeing as he will be stepping into his role within the Wizengamot soon." Black said, leaning in to study Hermione's face as if she were some curious creature he was determined to learn about. "It'll be the talk of the ton to have such a beauty coming of age next season. When did you say your birthday was?"

Hermione swallowed, feeling very much out of place in this world. "I didn't say," she replied, which only caused the boy in front of her to smile wide at her.

"Very well," Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as he began to back away from her. Hermione's body tensed up when he pulled his wand from a holster out of his sleeve, which he noticed and caused another smirk. A flick of her wand and a muttered spell she couldn't hear had all of the books she'd selected into a neat pile on the floor. What would have certainly taken at least an hour to sort through, he'd managed to do in mere moments.

He swiftly bent over and gathered the stack for her, pulling a basket off the floor and placing her books inside. Hermione reached for the basket, but Regulus clicked his tongue, pulling it out of her reach.

"Allow me to carry these for you and then pay for them. It's the least I could do for the lady after causing you such fright and distress."

Hermione's jaw clenched, feeling like the offer had a deeper meaning, but she couldn't figure it out for her life. Helen's voice cut through her mind, reminding her that her pride would do no good and that she should accept help when offered.

"This doesn't mean you expect me to pay you back, does it?" Hermione questioned, narrowing her eyes slightly in his direction. She had books in there that she hadn't genuinely intended to purchase but only read through before returning to the estate. Hermione wasn't willing to take advantage of Helen's generosity. However, this Regulus Black was such a thorn in her side already that she didn't have the same reserves, even hopeful of offending him with her absurdly large purchase.

"Think of this as my apology," he purred, giving her a wink that caused a flush to creep up her neck.

Who was this boy…

"In that case, I suppose," Hermione answered, reaching for the basket again, her nostrils flaring when he pulled it out of her reach again. "I wasn't finished with my shopping at any rate; I won't expect you to buy everything I select."

"Ms. Greengrass, I insist you allow me to purchase everything of your heart's desire from this shop and the privilege of carrying your basket."

Hermione's instincts told her that this wasn't just a simple offer again, but something was simmering under the surface.

Regulus raised a brow in question after she'd admittedly paused for too long. With a sigh, Hermione nodded in agreement and continued exploring the stacks. Dutifully and as he promised, Regulus followed silently behind her, accepting every new book she pulled from the shelf without complaint. She even grabbed a few that she had no interest in reading to see if he would say anything in opposition, but still, he just accepted the books as they moved along.

Finally, after another hour, Hermione deemed her shopping completed. She turned towards Regulus, who had not said another word as he'd followed her through the various rows, now carrying multiple baskets that were all past capacity.

Truthfully, she'd expected him to, at some point, set everything on the ground and slip away while she was distracted, but he did no such thing. He stood with his shoulders pulled back, and his head held high, waiting in line next to her.

The people around them were taking notice of Hermione with Regulus, whoever he was. She assumed being with him must have been significant because the whispers around them had increased, and she could feel the stares from everyone as she moved toward the register.

Guilt crept in more as they moved in front of the clerk. Helen had asked Hermione if she needed help shopping, but she had declined, telling her adopted mother she'd rather be alone while she browsed. Helen hadn't seemed offended at Hermione's requests for privacy, promising she'd be waiting in the lounge area when she was ready to check out.

Instead of doing as Helen had expected, Hermione accepted what was sure to be a costly gift from a boy she'd just met.

"Mr. Black!" The elderly woman behind the counter exclaimed when she saw Regulus, "Did your mother have another order for you to pick up?" She asked, which caused Hermione some confusion.

Hadn't he been shopping for his new school books as well? If not, why had he been in the depths of the shop with her?

"Oh no, Beatrice," he said, his voice smooth as honey, "I'm just escorting Ms. Greengrass here and offered to carry her selections." At that, he set all three baskets down on the counter. "You may charge all of these to my account, not the family one."

The hush that fell over the people surrounding them had Hermione regretting her decision to allow him to make this purchase for her, but she was in too deep now to back out. As the number of books climbed, and so did the total, Hermione could feel her face flush even more. Sixty-three books and an embarrassingly high cost later, Hermione felt utterly embarrassed by her actions.

"Beatrice, if you wouldn't mind having all those shipped directly to the Greengrass Estate, I would greatly appreciate it. You can add the delivery charge to my tab as well." Hermione's face was indeed a deep crimson at this point, all the women in their fancy hats and beautiful robes whispering behind their gloved hands and motioning in her direction.

Stepping out of the shop and onto the street, Hermione's head hung down as she looked at her feet, too mortified to meet Regulus's stare.

"You didn't have to do all that for an apology," Hermione muttered.

"I'd offered, and you are the one who continued to make selections," Regulus smoothly stated, tightening Hermione's chest with the observation. "Who was I to discourage your academic pursuits?"

"Still, but thank you," Hermione mumbled, glancing up at Regulus, who was again smirking at her obvious embarrassment.

"You can make it up to me in another way," Regulus supplied. He reached into his robes and pulled out an emerald green handkerchief. Before Hermione could ask what he was doing, he tapped the material with his wand, transforming it into a thornless red rose.

"Until we meet again," he said, handing the rose to her, and then he was gone.

Notes:

The thornless rose means early attachment per Language of Flowers.

Did I purchase this book to use it as a reference while writing fics? Yes, yes, I did.