GREENGRASS ESTATE, EAST SUSSEX, ENGLAND; 30TH JULY 1977

After Regulus Black had left Hermione standing in the middle of Diagon Alley with the single transfigured rose, she'd returned to the shop to find Helen. As promised, her adopted mother awaited her in deep conversation with another woman. Helen greeted Hermione with a smile that slid from her face when she spotted the rose in her hand. Embarrassed by still holding the damn thing, Hermione had quickly shoved it into her bag, trying to brush off the significance of it, but Helen was no fool.

That led to Hermione confessing about the events that had taken place, with Regulus finding her wandering the stacks, followed by him purchasing all the books that she'd selected. Instead of being happy that Hermione had met someone who was very overly generous, Helen's face had grown steadily more flushed with anger as the story unfolded. That was when Hermione learned precisely what game Regulus Black had been playing.

"He bought her over sixty books, Hector! In front of everyone!" Helen, whom Hermione had never seen out of sorts, shouted as she stormed around the small kitchen, putting a kettle on the stove. "Of course, Hermione had no idea what he was doing! She might as well be walking around with the Black family crest on her cloak now. Or worse, on a choker, I bet that boy is already at Gringotts picking one out from his family's vault."

"Helen, please calm yourself, darling," Hector said, though Hermione could tell he was also unhappy about what had transpired. "I've already written Orion, though I'm not expecting much response."

Hermione was utterly confused by her parents' adverse reaction, though she was wise to keep that thought to herself for the moment. It wasn't as if she'd agreed to marry him or do anything besides walk around looking at books with him. He hadn't even stood that close to her while she was picking out her books. Only coming close enough to allow Hermione to fill the baskets he'd dutifully carried.

He'd stood too close when they'd first encountered, but afterward, he'd kept a respectable distance.

"And you were alone with him for a while?" Hector asked, his attention turning to Hermione.

She slowly nodded, wholly bewildered as to why that was even a concern. It wasn't as if they lived in the Victorian Era, where young women weren't allowed to be alone with men without a chaperone present. Right?

"Orion Black is a sniveling little worm. I can smell Walburga all over this sort of underhanded maneuvering! Especially after how she treated poor Sirius, blaming it on Alphard's influence. She, of course, would want her pride and joy to prey on innocent young women!" Helen was throwing around names and insults, and Hermione found herself speechless.

Helen had always been the picture of grace and poise, never a hair out of place or another other than understanding coming from her. This new side of her had Hermione completely bewildered and thankful that she wasn't this Walburga woman.

Hector, though, appeared to understand Helen's frustrations fully and just sighed. His whiskey-colored eyes met hers, and he gave her a soft smile, patting the top of her hand in a loving gesture that surprised Hermione.

"We should have instructed you on some of the more outdated parts of our society before allowing you to shop without a chaperone." Hermione's brows scrunched together in confusion to show that she really and honestly had no idea what the problem was. Good heavens, was she living in some backward Victorian Era and not realizing it?

"By purchasing you a gift of a particular value ranging around thirty galleons, in this case, books, he shows that he is courting you or intending to court you and that you are not eligible for anyone else's attention. This would usually be done after his father had spoken with your father and had gotten permission to enter into a courtship." Helen spat, setting a tea tray up much rougher than usual. "This is what our pureblood society dictates and why we swore if we ever had a daughter by birth, she wouldn't be subjected to such archaic traditions until she was able to form her own opinions."

Hermione could feel her jaw drop at the information, not only because of what it meant but because Regulus had spent nearly sixty-four galleons on her books, plus whatever it had cost for the shipping. This couldn't be real life. This boy, whom she had only just met, intended to court her, and Hermione didn't even know what that would entail.

"Hm, I bet he was shocked when he saw you in trousers," Helen chuckled, setting the tea down with a plate of biscuits. "Pureblood women are only supposed to wear skirts or dresses; their great aspiration is to marry into a well-to-do family. A pureblood woman having a career? Let's say you're fitting right in with the family. Aunt Leda is a Magizoologist, so she moved out to Australia after she finished Hogwarts, and I'm a healer. A family of scandalous women."

"Er, but..." Hermione trailed off, looking between Helen and Hector, clearing her throat and trying to remember how to breathe. While she appreciated that she'd somehow found herself being cared for by a family that embraced strong women, she still couldn't get past the fact that she had no idea what had transpired earlier in the shop. "What does it mean for me that Regulus intends to court me?"

The adults shared a look that told Hermione that they weren't thrilled with the events that were about to occur, but it had to be done.

"We should expect an invitation to a formal dinner to discuss your future," Hector explained just as a black owl appeared at their kitchen window. "I suspect that might be Orion now," he said, standing from the table to retrieve the letter attached to the bird's leg.

Hermione's mouth felt dry as she watched Hector read the note, but Helen, setting her tea in front of her, returned her attention to the other witch.

"No need to fret; the Black family doesn't intimidate us," Helen promised, but Hermione wasn't so sure she shared the sentiment. However, when Hector let out a sigh and informed the women that they had been invited to dinner at the Black family home the night after next, Hermione promised herself that she'd show Regulus Black that she was not a woman to be taken lightly or to manipulate.

She might not know who she was, but Hermione knew she wasn't a wallflower to be taken advantage of.

Notes:

NOTES: USD 1 = 6.64 Galleons. $1000 in 2024 = $191.35 in 1977. So, 30 galleons in 1977 would be around USD 1000 today. I'm doing an average cost of $35 in 2024/book since some would have been more and some less, especially since many were new textbooks. And lemme just say that one of my new textbooks was $300+ (I found a used copy for much cheaper because I don't have Black family money), so I'm being generous with that low of an average.

So, in 2024, Regulus would have spent USD 2,205 on books.