Muggle
Booktopia.
All Draco can remember after that is that Potter suddenly moved very quickly, shouting and pointing and waving his arms around in the air. Draco was sure it was something to do with how evil he was and how he could not be trusted to rescue Hermione and bring her back. He even expressed at one point that Draco would probably just kill her and fabricate some sort of lie to make him out to be a hero because that was all Slytherin’s ever did.
Needless to say Draco let Potter whine and winge and throw his toys out of the pram while he went over Hermione’s information. Yes she had been tracked to Australia, where Harry said she had gone on Holiday. She was currently in Sydney according to the information working at a local bookstore called Booktopia (he snorted at the unoriginal name and then cringed silently at the fact he’d just snorted though no one noticed because Potter was still ranting and raving). When Draco looked up from the paper he was amazed to see Gawain still sat in his chair, fingers pressed to his lips, regarding Potter in a bored fashion. Draco could not understand why he was allowing this. Surely Potter had now proved he was not fit for the position of Head Auror if he couldn’t get his measly emotions under control. He half expected the Weasel to burst in also screaming his disgust about Malfoy being the one to find his darling Hermione.
Gawain raised his hand up in a gesture that silenced Potter immediately. He flushed, realising his brattish behaviour and muttered a few apologies, raking his fingers through his hair in distress pulling at it slightly to relieve tension.
“As… happy as I am that you clearly care for your friend Mr. Potter, I will not tolerate another explosion like this. Mr. Malfoy is a very capable individual.” Queue smug smile and raised eyebrow directed towards Potter, “He has proved this time and time again. He has no connection to the girl and therefore will not let whatever she is like now hinder him in bringing her back. She could be in bad way for all we know, and we can’t have a set back if you are upset by your friend’s circumstances.”
Upset? Draco wondered why Potter would be upset. From what he could read on the sheet she had a job. If she was able to get up in the morning and finically support herself she clearly hadn’t been kidnapped. Draco doubted that the task would be difficult at all. A free trip to Australia to find Granger, figure out what was wrong with her and bring her back? It sounded like a free holiday to Draco. He could pin point her location, keep tabs on her, and then explore for a few days before sorting the situation out and heading home. Sorted. Maybe he’d be able to find a nice girl over in Australia to have a little celebration on his birthday. Maybe this could be fun.
Draco was very, very wrong.
After they left Gawain’s office Potter stormed off in a huff. His fists were clenched, as were his teeth by the look of his tense jaw, and he was muttering incoherently. Draco considered heading back to the office to check in with some of the guys on his team but then decided to simply head home and prepare for his trip. The boys would still be there when we got back.
Unfortunately as Draco finally reached the exit of the Ministry he bumped into a very fierce looking Ronald Weasley. Well, as fierce as he could look. In Draco’s opinion he looked more like he’d eaten a rather unpleasant Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean but, just to humour the red headed mutt, Draco stopped before him. Weasley’s fists were, like his annoying counterpart, also clenched by his sides but his stance was shaking slightly (probably with anger but Malfoy told himself he was shaking with fear from being in front of his incredible presence).
It took Draco a few blinks to realise Weasley was actually talking to him. He dropped his focus from the red head’s hands which were twitching by his side as if to reach out and attack and focused on the words falling from his mouth.
Falling? More like tearing. Ripping at the air around them. Harsh. Cold. Draco internally recoiled at the loudness of it all, but maintained his smooth, unaffected exterior.
“-IF YOU SO MUCH AS LAY A FINGER ON HER. IF YOU DARE HURT HER THEN I WILL BE COMING FOR YOU MALFOY. MARK MY WORDS. IF I HAD MY WAY I’D BE GOING ON THIS BLOODY MISSION AND I WOULD BE THE ONE TO GET HER AND BRING HER BACK BUT-.”
“Oh Weasel. Is that because you know that’s the only way she’ll snog you? Do you think she’ll just be so grateful that she’ll leap into your arms at the sight of you begging you to take her home and fuc-,’
“DON’T YOU DARE FINISH THAT SENTENCE. DON’T YOU TARNISH HER WITH YOUR FILTHY WORDS-,”
“My filthy words? Tarnishing her name? But I was explaining what you’re deliriously hoping for. Did you just then, insult yourself?”
Ron went very red in the face which complimented his already red hair horrifically. He stuttered and sputtered and his fists began to shake even more violently. Draco yawned, wondering just how long it would take for the Weasel to form a sentence. He silently hoped that maybe his brain had shut down in confusion so that he would no longer have to deal with the ginger haired prick. If that did happen then Harry would be so concerned for his friend he would not do any work and then Draco would automatically get Head Auror. Oh that would be marvellous, Draco thought, rubbing his chin and smiling ruefully to himself.
Draco was brought out of his day dreaming by a fist moving swiftly past his face. Ron had, in his anger, swung to punch Draco but had over shot and was now following the direction of his fist and falling to the floor landing with a loud, “Oompf!”
The whole hall stopped to stare incredulously at them. After a few moments silence the nattering started, and then the pointing, and then Potter and Kingsley just had to show up. Draco really didn’t need this right now. He could just tell by looking at Potter’s face and the gleam in his eyes that he was assuming the worst, especially with the way Potter was pulling on Kingsley’s sleeve and gesturing over to Draco, keeping his eyes locked on him.
“What’s going on here, Draco?” Kingsley asked, walking over to the pair whilst Harry rushed to Ron’s side and picked him up off the floor.
“I was just about to go home, Minister, when Weasley attacked me. I have eye witnesses of course. I’d be willing to make a statement now. I don’t expect this sort of behaviour from my colleagues, Sir, especially when I have a job to prepare for.” Weasley was going even redder in the face as Draco addressed the minister of magic. Harry was looking between them all, bewildered.
“Mr. Weasley! Is this true?!”
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On the other side of the world, Hermione Granger was just about to blink away the remains of sleep. Her dreams were so vivid. She couldn’t explain these jets of red and bursts of green that filled the space around her and coloured the sky a dismal brown. She couldn’t explain why she woke up to feel her heart pounding against her rib cage and the desperate need to cry out for someone. She dreamt of blondes, brunettes, red heads… so many red heads. She dreamt she kissed a boy once with freckles and vivid orange hair but the second she woke up he was gone, yet she could not shake the feeling of familiarity all day. She kissed red, saw red, dreamt red, and she couldn’t quite work out if the red was showing passion or anger.
She dragged herself out of bed, the memory of the dreams humming in the back of her subconscious, and prepared for another day of work. She loved her job. For everything she was feeling there was a shelf filled with books that she could look through. Today she was feeling particularly fond of fantasy. Maybe she’d finally read that new book about vampires that Lisa kept nattering on about. She smiled to herself as she stepped under the heat of the shower. Whilst humming, she lathered her shampoo into her fingers and then into her mane. This was the fourteenth product she had tried to tame the wild mess of curls on top of her head and she was beginning to lose all hope that she’d ever be able to control it.
If only magic were real. Then maybe there’d be a simple spell for this, she thought to herself, giggling. No. Hermione Granger was exceedingly normal. Averagely ordinary. And she was fine with that. She had books to lose herself in and in those books she could imagine and pretend and the worlds she thought up would be filled with all the colours she saw in her dreams. Her mind was kaleidoscopic. The real world was plain in comparison.
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The bell dinged to signify someone had entered the shop and Lisa glanced up at the clock. The shop opened at ten o clock every morning. It was currently five to ten and Lisa’s mouth quirked up. There was only one person who arrived like clockwork at that time every morning. Granted there were only two people who worked at the shop (including her) but Lisa didn’t even have to look towards to door to voice her greeting.
“Hullo Hermione!”
“Hi Lisa,” Hermione shut the door behind her, rubbing her hair down with her hands in an attempt to control the height it had reached due to the wind, “So that book you were reading. Are you done with it?”
“Not yet!” Lisa giggled, waving it in Hermione’s face, “I’ve only got a few pages left though, see?”
“Well when you’re done let me know!” Hermione grinned towards her friend, walking behind their counter and into the staff room to hang up her cardigan and bag. She grabbed her bottle and had a swig of water, “Jheeze it’s hot today. I figured with the wind it might be a bit cooler.”
“Come on, Hermione, you’ve been here for two weeks now. You should know that it’s hot regardless.” Lisa then let out a low whistle, peaking over her book to look at a tall man perusing the non-fiction section, “Speaking of hot, there’s a customer I need to attend to. Man the desk!”
Hermione laughed, shaking her head at her flirtatious friend. This was the fifth man she had cornered this week. Unsurprisingly her confidence had not failed her yet and when Lisa was not reading or working she was out on dates. Hermione was in awe of her really with her sun kissed skin and deep blue eyes. Lisa had a gorgeous face with the most adorable elf like nose and soft rosy cheeks. Hermione had even quickly gotten over the bright pink hair piled on top of her head today in a classy bun. For some reason it caused a pang in Hermione’s heart every time she focused on it, though she tried hard not to for that reason She was sure she’d dream about it anyway. She’d dream about a woman with vibrant pink hair who turned her mouth into a ducks beak around the dinner table.
Hermione looked over the notes in front of her to remind herself of what there was to do. A new order of Percy Jackson books was expected today and there was a stack of returns behind the desk she needed to return to their rightful positions. She rubbed her cheeks tiredly before deciding to tackle the pile first. As she picked the stack up she looked around her haven. The book store was a beautiful place. The plush green carpets and dark oak shelves filled her with such joy. If you looked close enough you would see the intricate patterns swirling around the wood and she would trace the curves of it with her fingers as she searched for a book. She breathed in the scent, closed her eyes and acknowledged the feeling of being. Of living. Her chest rose and fell instinctively and the sun streaming in through the window warmed her bones delightfully. She stayed like that for a few moments before getting back to the task at hand – stacking.
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Draco was just finishing the rest of his packing, angrily stuffing shirts, ties, pants, trousers and socks into his bag whilst muttering under his breath. That stupid Weasley and his stupid friend trying to get him in trouble, trying to make out that he’d knocked Ron to the ground. The Weasel was well known for his clumsiness and amazing ability to not stay upright. Draco had a job to do. He took his work seriously and yet there they were trying to get him kicked off the case that could secure him the position of Head Auror. The whole world would see him then. Everyone would admire him. After years of being on the receiving end curious glances and standoffish behaviour he would finally be respected by everyone, not just his colleagues. Draco needed this. It was his opportunity. His chance to prove himself.
“Oi, Draco!”
“Blaise,” Draco nodded towards his best friend and roommate.
Draco and Blaise had moved in together after the former had returned from travelling. Blaise needed to move out of his home as his mother kept pushing him to give up his bachelor lifestyle to settle down and Draco wanted his own space away from the empty halls of the manor. Their place wasn’t much, but it was enough.
“So are you going to be out tonight because I’ve got a date and I was planning on bringing her bac-,”
“I’ll be away in Australia for a while,” Draco cut him off; turning to face the Italian with his arms crossed, “But let me lay down a few ground rules. Yes you can bring girls back but please stick to your room. Yes you can throw a party but no one goes into my room. Yes you can have a massive orgy for all I care but don’t-,”
“Go into your room or let people tough your stuff yeah I got it.” Blaise waved his hand in the air to silence Draco’s rant, “and Merlin that orgy was one time!”
Draco raised his eyebrows in disbelief but nodded anyway. “I’ll be off soon. Invite Theo round or something while I’m gone. He’ll keep you in line.”
Blaise sighed angrily, “But if I bring Theo there’s no way I’ll be able to live the free and single life style. Everyone stays well away because he’s-,”
“Engaged. Yes I know. That’s why you should invite him round. Maybe he’ll rub off on you and you’ll learn to stick your dick in one girl.”
“Merlin you sound like my mother,” Blaise muttered angrily, “Why you off to Australia anyway?”
Draco zipped up his bag and pushed his wand up his sleeve – a habit that he still hadn’t gotten rid of since the war. It provided easy access in case it was needed, not that it usually was needed, but it remained there as a precaution. He turned, shrugging his bag over his shoulder and went to walk past Blaise only to be stopped in his tracks. Draco brushed his fingers through his hair and rubbed his forehead.
“You know I can’t tell you these things Blaise. It’s confidential.”
“Confidential until The Prophet finds out and puts it on the front page. Come on, just tell me.”
They both stared at each other for a few minutes. Draco went to walk around Blaise but every time he did the latter was there, standing in front of him with folded arms and a bored look on his face. Despite Blaise’s disinterested expression Draco knew he wouldn’t let him go until he explained everything so he sighed, turned back to the bed and sat on it.
“Some muggle born witches and wizards have gone missing. Gawain’s given me and Potter the job to find them-,”
“Right so what’s the problem? Why do you look like you’re walking to your deat-,”
“I have to find Granger.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, have fun!” Blaise grinned, “I’ll invite Theo over. Don’t worry about the flat. You should really start to make a move. I promise that I will hoover and clean the bed sheets and not bring girls into your room. Though if we just happen to end up in there then it’s their fault, not mine.”
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“Hullo Hermione!”
“Hi Lisa. Finished that book yet?”
Lisa grinned at her friend, “You never give up do you? Couldn’t you have read another book while I finish this one?”
Hermione grimaced, taking a sip from her water bottle, “There’s nothing else I want to read. I’ve got my heart set on that book now.” It was warmer today than yesterday and she desperately longed to be lying on the beach reading a good book and letting her imagination run wild. Unfortunately, she still didn’t have the book she wanted.
“Well go get another book. Jesus ‘Mione. This one will still be here when I’m done with it.”
Hermione huffed and waved her hand in front of her face in the hopes that it would generate some form of a breeze. She’d already opened all the windows and then promptly closed half of them due to the amount of bugs that had flown into the shop. She rose from her seat and stomped down the second aisle of books, Lisa chuckling behind her at her sulking.
What was she in the mood for? Adventure maybe? She fingered the titles of the books and took out a few, reading the blurbs before rolling her eyes and putting them back in place. She didn’t want to read a clichéd love story. She didn’t want to read about love at all. She wanted to read about battles and fights and war and good triumphing over evil and a prince and a princess and a castle that is under siege from a curse. Was there a book that held all those things? Was there something that could explain all the things she’d been dreaming about? Did they even have a book about dreams?
She marched over to the other side of the shop. She was sure she’d seen something recently about the unconscious mind. She found the book she was looking for, the cover was filled with crystal balls and tea leaves, and flicked through. What was something that had been coming up? Red? Red hair? Hermione thought that was a little obscure to be in the book but amazingly she found it. A whole two pages of the book covered the colour red and in the corner, there it was, red hair.
‘Love or risk if red hair – To dream of red hair colour can be interpreted either as a good omen or as a bad omen. As a good omen red hair colour signifies love, passion and sexuality. As a bad omen red hair colour signifies dangers. To make a good interpretation of your dream, you’ve got to rethink of the state you were in your dream – were you feeling good or bad seeing the red hair?’
How was Hermione feeling when she saw the red hair? Well in the dream she was in the middle of a battle. So, scared? She chuckled to herself. Scared wasn’t really the word to describe it. She had felt like she was suffocating.
“Maybe it’s a sign,” She sighed to herself. “No red headed boyfriends.”
She’d dreamt of white hair too. That was an usual colour to see on a young person. Whereas the other colour she’d been dreaming of, a boy with brunette hair. Well that was common wasn’t it? Even she had brunette hair, but a boy with white hair? Now that was unsual. She flicked through the book again and found an even smaller section on the topic she was looking for.
‘Dreaming of white or bright silver coloured hair signifies wisdom, goodness and happiness.’
She took in the information and let her brain absorb it. Stay away from red heads and get close to anyone with white hair. Sounds simple enough.
“Excuse me.”
Hermione turned around and her face fell in shock. The sun was streaming in through the windows. The man in front of her was surrounded by a halo of bright light. She was sure she looked ridiculous, sat here with her mouth open. She stared at his hair for hours it seemed. White shining hair. White white white. Just like her dream. Her gaze drifted down to his eyes. Hard slate grey. Eyebrows raised. Glaring. She suddenly felt cold. Exposed even. Before she could stop it her face flushed and the warmth spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. Why was he staring at her? What was he waiting for? Had she responded yet? Oh crap she hadn’t. She wasn’t sure she could go any redder, but her face got even warmer.
“Yes, can I help?” She murmured.
His eyes flashed for a moment with what looked like bewilderment. His eyebrows fell into a frown and he rubbed the back of his neck. He looked distressed. Hermione glanced over to the front desk and saw Lisa waggling her eyebrows at her. Hermione’s eyes widened and she shook her head suddenly, jumping up.
Hermione however, wasn’t very co-ordinated, and jumped straight onto the white hair stranger, completely knocking him over.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed, flustered, as she tried to pull herself off him.
He stood elegantly, brushing himself down and picking something up off the floor. Oh, a book. He was going to ask her about a book and she had just basically jumped him. He probably thought she was some freak. He was about to shout at her for being so rude and disrespectful. This was it. He opened his mouth again and she winced, ready to him raise his voice at her-
“How much is this?”
Oh.
“Erm if you could just give it to me I’ll scan it and check?”
"Please."
Hermione took the book, careful not to accidentally touch him, and headed towards the desk. She could hear him trailing behind her and saw Lisa’s eyes gleaming with excitement. ‘Don’t,’ Hermione mouthed towards her but Lisa’s grin just got wider. As Hermione finally manoeuvred herself behind the desk (and was thankful for the distance now between her and this work of art) Lisa began to rattle off questions.
“So where you from?”
“The UK.”
“Oh just like Hermione here! What part of the UK? Are you here on holiday?”
“I’m here for a while.”
“Well we’re open every day if you ever fancy popping back in for another book. I see you’ve picked up Stephen King. Amazing author don’t you think? The stories are filled with such suspense!”
Hermione could feel his eyes still on her despite Lisa’s interrogation. She scanned the book through and raised her eyes towards him. “That’s eight dollars please.”
“Eight?” The man pulled out his wallet and looked around for a bit, pulling a few notes out and pushing them towards her. “Hermione, did you say?”
“Yes!” Lisa interrupted, “Beautiful name, isn’t it?”
Hermione glared over at Lisa and attempted to nudge her with her elbow. Lisa yelped and hit Hermione’s arm and then grabbed it, “Excuse us for a minute!”
The man nodded briefly, confusion dawning on his face, whilst Lisa dragged Hermione into the staff room. She pushed Hermione in, shutting the door and glancing out of it for a minute. Lisa squealed suddenly, turned and grabbed Hermione in a hug.
“Oh he’s gorgeous and he is exactly your type! He’s been staring at you constantly! Hermione he totally likes you!”
“What? No no no no!” Hermione sputtered, rubbing her hands over her face in embarrassment, “I’ve only been here two weeks! I need to settle in first. I can’t be off gallivanting with men there’s so much to do so much to see-,”
“Hermione. Jesus. Shut up!” Lisa said, giving her a pointed look. “Just, be nice!” And before Hermione knew it she was being dragged out again. She hoped that the blonde haired man had left but he was still stood by the counter. His face was turned towards the door. Maybe he was wondering if he should leave. However as soon as the door reopened and Lisa and Hermione emerged his attention was focused back on them.
Hermione put his money in the till and went to get his change. Lisa excused herself and went to stack some shelves. She positioned herself behind the man and was gesturing with her arms wildly, pointing at her and at him and then making her hands kiss each other. It was all very dramatic and Hermione flushed again.
“Here’s your change.”
“Thank you, Hermione.” His lip quirked upwards slightly and then, as if he seemed to realise he was beginning to smile, his mouth suddenly pulled back down again. Flat. He picked up the book and walked off towards the door. Hermione’s eyes followed and she hit her hand against her head wondering why she couldn’t be more confident like Lisa. What if that man was what her dream was telling her about. The white hair? The goodness she was supposed to feel? What if that was him and it was walking away from her.
Quite suddenly, he turned around.
“Hermione?” Her head snapped up and her eyes met his. He grinned in her direction and winked, “My name is Draco. I’ll see you around.”
Needless to say Draco let Potter whine and winge and throw his toys out of the pram while he went over Hermione’s information. Yes she had been tracked to Australia, where Harry said she had gone on Holiday. She was currently in Sydney according to the information working at a local bookstore called Booktopia (he snorted at the unoriginal name and then cringed silently at the fact he’d just snorted though no one noticed because Potter was still ranting and raving). When Draco looked up from the paper he was amazed to see Gawain still sat in his chair, fingers pressed to his lips, regarding Potter in a bored fashion. Draco could not understand why he was allowing this. Surely Potter had now proved he was not fit for the position of Head Auror if he couldn’t get his measly emotions under control. He half expected the Weasel to burst in also screaming his disgust about Malfoy being the one to find his darling Hermione.
Gawain raised his hand up in a gesture that silenced Potter immediately. He flushed, realising his brattish behaviour and muttered a few apologies, raking his fingers through his hair in distress pulling at it slightly to relieve tension.
“As… happy as I am that you clearly care for your friend Mr. Potter, I will not tolerate another explosion like this. Mr. Malfoy is a very capable individual.” Queue smug smile and raised eyebrow directed towards Potter, “He has proved this time and time again. He has no connection to the girl and therefore will not let whatever she is like now hinder him in bringing her back. She could be in bad way for all we know, and we can’t have a set back if you are upset by your friend’s circumstances.”
Upset? Draco wondered why Potter would be upset. From what he could read on the sheet she had a job. If she was able to get up in the morning and finically support herself she clearly hadn’t been kidnapped. Draco doubted that the task would be difficult at all. A free trip to Australia to find Granger, figure out what was wrong with her and bring her back? It sounded like a free holiday to Draco. He could pin point her location, keep tabs on her, and then explore for a few days before sorting the situation out and heading home. Sorted. Maybe he’d be able to find a nice girl over in Australia to have a little celebration on his birthday. Maybe this could be fun.
Draco was very, very wrong.
After they left Gawain’s office Potter stormed off in a huff. His fists were clenched, as were his teeth by the look of his tense jaw, and he was muttering incoherently. Draco considered heading back to the office to check in with some of the guys on his team but then decided to simply head home and prepare for his trip. The boys would still be there when we got back.
Unfortunately as Draco finally reached the exit of the Ministry he bumped into a very fierce looking Ronald Weasley. Well, as fierce as he could look. In Draco’s opinion he looked more like he’d eaten a rather unpleasant Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean but, just to humour the red headed mutt, Draco stopped before him. Weasley’s fists were, like his annoying counterpart, also clenched by his sides but his stance was shaking slightly (probably with anger but Malfoy told himself he was shaking with fear from being in front of his incredible presence).
It took Draco a few blinks to realise Weasley was actually talking to him. He dropped his focus from the red head’s hands which were twitching by his side as if to reach out and attack and focused on the words falling from his mouth.
Falling? More like tearing. Ripping at the air around them. Harsh. Cold. Draco internally recoiled at the loudness of it all, but maintained his smooth, unaffected exterior.
“-IF YOU SO MUCH AS LAY A FINGER ON HER. IF YOU DARE HURT HER THEN I WILL BE COMING FOR YOU MALFOY. MARK MY WORDS. IF I HAD MY WAY I’D BE GOING ON THIS BLOODY MISSION AND I WOULD BE THE ONE TO GET HER AND BRING HER BACK BUT-.”
“Oh Weasel. Is that because you know that’s the only way she’ll snog you? Do you think she’ll just be so grateful that she’ll leap into your arms at the sight of you begging you to take her home and fuc-,’
“DON’T YOU DARE FINISH THAT SENTENCE. DON’T YOU TARNISH HER WITH YOUR FILTHY WORDS-,”
“My filthy words? Tarnishing her name? But I was explaining what you’re deliriously hoping for. Did you just then, insult yourself?”
Ron went very red in the face which complimented his already red hair horrifically. He stuttered and sputtered and his fists began to shake even more violently. Draco yawned, wondering just how long it would take for the Weasel to form a sentence. He silently hoped that maybe his brain had shut down in confusion so that he would no longer have to deal with the ginger haired prick. If that did happen then Harry would be so concerned for his friend he would not do any work and then Draco would automatically get Head Auror. Oh that would be marvellous, Draco thought, rubbing his chin and smiling ruefully to himself.
Draco was brought out of his day dreaming by a fist moving swiftly past his face. Ron had, in his anger, swung to punch Draco but had over shot and was now following the direction of his fist and falling to the floor landing with a loud, “Oompf!”
The whole hall stopped to stare incredulously at them. After a few moments silence the nattering started, and then the pointing, and then Potter and Kingsley just had to show up. Draco really didn’t need this right now. He could just tell by looking at Potter’s face and the gleam in his eyes that he was assuming the worst, especially with the way Potter was pulling on Kingsley’s sleeve and gesturing over to Draco, keeping his eyes locked on him.
“What’s going on here, Draco?” Kingsley asked, walking over to the pair whilst Harry rushed to Ron’s side and picked him up off the floor.
“I was just about to go home, Minister, when Weasley attacked me. I have eye witnesses of course. I’d be willing to make a statement now. I don’t expect this sort of behaviour from my colleagues, Sir, especially when I have a job to prepare for.” Weasley was going even redder in the face as Draco addressed the minister of magic. Harry was looking between them all, bewildered.
“Mr. Weasley! Is this true?!”
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On the other side of the world, Hermione Granger was just about to blink away the remains of sleep. Her dreams were so vivid. She couldn’t explain these jets of red and bursts of green that filled the space around her and coloured the sky a dismal brown. She couldn’t explain why she woke up to feel her heart pounding against her rib cage and the desperate need to cry out for someone. She dreamt of blondes, brunettes, red heads… so many red heads. She dreamt she kissed a boy once with freckles and vivid orange hair but the second she woke up he was gone, yet she could not shake the feeling of familiarity all day. She kissed red, saw red, dreamt red, and she couldn’t quite work out if the red was showing passion or anger.
She dragged herself out of bed, the memory of the dreams humming in the back of her subconscious, and prepared for another day of work. She loved her job. For everything she was feeling there was a shelf filled with books that she could look through. Today she was feeling particularly fond of fantasy. Maybe she’d finally read that new book about vampires that Lisa kept nattering on about. She smiled to herself as she stepped under the heat of the shower. Whilst humming, she lathered her shampoo into her fingers and then into her mane. This was the fourteenth product she had tried to tame the wild mess of curls on top of her head and she was beginning to lose all hope that she’d ever be able to control it.
If only magic were real. Then maybe there’d be a simple spell for this, she thought to herself, giggling. No. Hermione Granger was exceedingly normal. Averagely ordinary. And she was fine with that. She had books to lose herself in and in those books she could imagine and pretend and the worlds she thought up would be filled with all the colours she saw in her dreams. Her mind was kaleidoscopic. The real world was plain in comparison.
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The bell dinged to signify someone had entered the shop and Lisa glanced up at the clock. The shop opened at ten o clock every morning. It was currently five to ten and Lisa’s mouth quirked up. There was only one person who arrived like clockwork at that time every morning. Granted there were only two people who worked at the shop (including her) but Lisa didn’t even have to look towards to door to voice her greeting.
“Hullo Hermione!”
“Hi Lisa,” Hermione shut the door behind her, rubbing her hair down with her hands in an attempt to control the height it had reached due to the wind, “So that book you were reading. Are you done with it?”
“Not yet!” Lisa giggled, waving it in Hermione’s face, “I’ve only got a few pages left though, see?”
“Well when you’re done let me know!” Hermione grinned towards her friend, walking behind their counter and into the staff room to hang up her cardigan and bag. She grabbed her bottle and had a swig of water, “Jheeze it’s hot today. I figured with the wind it might be a bit cooler.”
“Come on, Hermione, you’ve been here for two weeks now. You should know that it’s hot regardless.” Lisa then let out a low whistle, peaking over her book to look at a tall man perusing the non-fiction section, “Speaking of hot, there’s a customer I need to attend to. Man the desk!”
Hermione laughed, shaking her head at her flirtatious friend. This was the fifth man she had cornered this week. Unsurprisingly her confidence had not failed her yet and when Lisa was not reading or working she was out on dates. Hermione was in awe of her really with her sun kissed skin and deep blue eyes. Lisa had a gorgeous face with the most adorable elf like nose and soft rosy cheeks. Hermione had even quickly gotten over the bright pink hair piled on top of her head today in a classy bun. For some reason it caused a pang in Hermione’s heart every time she focused on it, though she tried hard not to for that reason She was sure she’d dream about it anyway. She’d dream about a woman with vibrant pink hair who turned her mouth into a ducks beak around the dinner table.
Hermione looked over the notes in front of her to remind herself of what there was to do. A new order of Percy Jackson books was expected today and there was a stack of returns behind the desk she needed to return to their rightful positions. She rubbed her cheeks tiredly before deciding to tackle the pile first. As she picked the stack up she looked around her haven. The book store was a beautiful place. The plush green carpets and dark oak shelves filled her with such joy. If you looked close enough you would see the intricate patterns swirling around the wood and she would trace the curves of it with her fingers as she searched for a book. She breathed in the scent, closed her eyes and acknowledged the feeling of being. Of living. Her chest rose and fell instinctively and the sun streaming in through the window warmed her bones delightfully. She stayed like that for a few moments before getting back to the task at hand – stacking.
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Draco was just finishing the rest of his packing, angrily stuffing shirts, ties, pants, trousers and socks into his bag whilst muttering under his breath. That stupid Weasley and his stupid friend trying to get him in trouble, trying to make out that he’d knocked Ron to the ground. The Weasel was well known for his clumsiness and amazing ability to not stay upright. Draco had a job to do. He took his work seriously and yet there they were trying to get him kicked off the case that could secure him the position of Head Auror. The whole world would see him then. Everyone would admire him. After years of being on the receiving end curious glances and standoffish behaviour he would finally be respected by everyone, not just his colleagues. Draco needed this. It was his opportunity. His chance to prove himself.
“Oi, Draco!”
“Blaise,” Draco nodded towards his best friend and roommate.
Draco and Blaise had moved in together after the former had returned from travelling. Blaise needed to move out of his home as his mother kept pushing him to give up his bachelor lifestyle to settle down and Draco wanted his own space away from the empty halls of the manor. Their place wasn’t much, but it was enough.
“So are you going to be out tonight because I’ve got a date and I was planning on bringing her bac-,”
“I’ll be away in Australia for a while,” Draco cut him off; turning to face the Italian with his arms crossed, “But let me lay down a few ground rules. Yes you can bring girls back but please stick to your room. Yes you can throw a party but no one goes into my room. Yes you can have a massive orgy for all I care but don’t-,”
“Go into your room or let people tough your stuff yeah I got it.” Blaise waved his hand in the air to silence Draco’s rant, “and Merlin that orgy was one time!”
Draco raised his eyebrows in disbelief but nodded anyway. “I’ll be off soon. Invite Theo round or something while I’m gone. He’ll keep you in line.”
Blaise sighed angrily, “But if I bring Theo there’s no way I’ll be able to live the free and single life style. Everyone stays well away because he’s-,”
“Engaged. Yes I know. That’s why you should invite him round. Maybe he’ll rub off on you and you’ll learn to stick your dick in one girl.”
“Merlin you sound like my mother,” Blaise muttered angrily, “Why you off to Australia anyway?”
Draco zipped up his bag and pushed his wand up his sleeve – a habit that he still hadn’t gotten rid of since the war. It provided easy access in case it was needed, not that it usually was needed, but it remained there as a precaution. He turned, shrugging his bag over his shoulder and went to walk past Blaise only to be stopped in his tracks. Draco brushed his fingers through his hair and rubbed his forehead.
“You know I can’t tell you these things Blaise. It’s confidential.”
“Confidential until The Prophet finds out and puts it on the front page. Come on, just tell me.”
They both stared at each other for a few minutes. Draco went to walk around Blaise but every time he did the latter was there, standing in front of him with folded arms and a bored look on his face. Despite Blaise’s disinterested expression Draco knew he wouldn’t let him go until he explained everything so he sighed, turned back to the bed and sat on it.
“Some muggle born witches and wizards have gone missing. Gawain’s given me and Potter the job to find them-,”
“Right so what’s the problem? Why do you look like you’re walking to your deat-,”
“I have to find Granger.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, have fun!” Blaise grinned, “I’ll invite Theo over. Don’t worry about the flat. You should really start to make a move. I promise that I will hoover and clean the bed sheets and not bring girls into your room. Though if we just happen to end up in there then it’s their fault, not mine.”
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“Hullo Hermione!”
“Hi Lisa. Finished that book yet?”
Lisa grinned at her friend, “You never give up do you? Couldn’t you have read another book while I finish this one?”
Hermione grimaced, taking a sip from her water bottle, “There’s nothing else I want to read. I’ve got my heart set on that book now.” It was warmer today than yesterday and she desperately longed to be lying on the beach reading a good book and letting her imagination run wild. Unfortunately, she still didn’t have the book she wanted.
“Well go get another book. Jesus ‘Mione. This one will still be here when I’m done with it.”
Hermione huffed and waved her hand in front of her face in the hopes that it would generate some form of a breeze. She’d already opened all the windows and then promptly closed half of them due to the amount of bugs that had flown into the shop. She rose from her seat and stomped down the second aisle of books, Lisa chuckling behind her at her sulking.
What was she in the mood for? Adventure maybe? She fingered the titles of the books and took out a few, reading the blurbs before rolling her eyes and putting them back in place. She didn’t want to read a clichéd love story. She didn’t want to read about love at all. She wanted to read about battles and fights and war and good triumphing over evil and a prince and a princess and a castle that is under siege from a curse. Was there a book that held all those things? Was there something that could explain all the things she’d been dreaming about? Did they even have a book about dreams?
She marched over to the other side of the shop. She was sure she’d seen something recently about the unconscious mind. She found the book she was looking for, the cover was filled with crystal balls and tea leaves, and flicked through. What was something that had been coming up? Red? Red hair? Hermione thought that was a little obscure to be in the book but amazingly she found it. A whole two pages of the book covered the colour red and in the corner, there it was, red hair.
‘Love or risk if red hair – To dream of red hair colour can be interpreted either as a good omen or as a bad omen. As a good omen red hair colour signifies love, passion and sexuality. As a bad omen red hair colour signifies dangers. To make a good interpretation of your dream, you’ve got to rethink of the state you were in your dream – were you feeling good or bad seeing the red hair?’
How was Hermione feeling when she saw the red hair? Well in the dream she was in the middle of a battle. So, scared? She chuckled to herself. Scared wasn’t really the word to describe it. She had felt like she was suffocating.
“Maybe it’s a sign,” She sighed to herself. “No red headed boyfriends.”
She’d dreamt of white hair too. That was an usual colour to see on a young person. Whereas the other colour she’d been dreaming of, a boy with brunette hair. Well that was common wasn’t it? Even she had brunette hair, but a boy with white hair? Now that was unsual. She flicked through the book again and found an even smaller section on the topic she was looking for.
‘Dreaming of white or bright silver coloured hair signifies wisdom, goodness and happiness.’
She took in the information and let her brain absorb it. Stay away from red heads and get close to anyone with white hair. Sounds simple enough.
“Excuse me.”
Hermione turned around and her face fell in shock. The sun was streaming in through the windows. The man in front of her was surrounded by a halo of bright light. She was sure she looked ridiculous, sat here with her mouth open. She stared at his hair for hours it seemed. White shining hair. White white white. Just like her dream. Her gaze drifted down to his eyes. Hard slate grey. Eyebrows raised. Glaring. She suddenly felt cold. Exposed even. Before she could stop it her face flushed and the warmth spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. Why was he staring at her? What was he waiting for? Had she responded yet? Oh crap she hadn’t. She wasn’t sure she could go any redder, but her face got even warmer.
“Yes, can I help?” She murmured.
His eyes flashed for a moment with what looked like bewilderment. His eyebrows fell into a frown and he rubbed the back of his neck. He looked distressed. Hermione glanced over to the front desk and saw Lisa waggling her eyebrows at her. Hermione’s eyes widened and she shook her head suddenly, jumping up.
Hermione however, wasn’t very co-ordinated, and jumped straight onto the white hair stranger, completely knocking him over.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed, flustered, as she tried to pull herself off him.
He stood elegantly, brushing himself down and picking something up off the floor. Oh, a book. He was going to ask her about a book and she had just basically jumped him. He probably thought she was some freak. He was about to shout at her for being so rude and disrespectful. This was it. He opened his mouth again and she winced, ready to him raise his voice at her-
“How much is this?”
Oh.
“Erm if you could just give it to me I’ll scan it and check?”
"Please."
Hermione took the book, careful not to accidentally touch him, and headed towards the desk. She could hear him trailing behind her and saw Lisa’s eyes gleaming with excitement. ‘Don’t,’ Hermione mouthed towards her but Lisa’s grin just got wider. As Hermione finally manoeuvred herself behind the desk (and was thankful for the distance now between her and this work of art) Lisa began to rattle off questions.
“So where you from?”
“The UK.”
“Oh just like Hermione here! What part of the UK? Are you here on holiday?”
“I’m here for a while.”
“Well we’re open every day if you ever fancy popping back in for another book. I see you’ve picked up Stephen King. Amazing author don’t you think? The stories are filled with such suspense!”
Hermione could feel his eyes still on her despite Lisa’s interrogation. She scanned the book through and raised her eyes towards him. “That’s eight dollars please.”
“Eight?” The man pulled out his wallet and looked around for a bit, pulling a few notes out and pushing them towards her. “Hermione, did you say?”
“Yes!” Lisa interrupted, “Beautiful name, isn’t it?”
Hermione glared over at Lisa and attempted to nudge her with her elbow. Lisa yelped and hit Hermione’s arm and then grabbed it, “Excuse us for a minute!”
The man nodded briefly, confusion dawning on his face, whilst Lisa dragged Hermione into the staff room. She pushed Hermione in, shutting the door and glancing out of it for a minute. Lisa squealed suddenly, turned and grabbed Hermione in a hug.
“Oh he’s gorgeous and he is exactly your type! He’s been staring at you constantly! Hermione he totally likes you!”
“What? No no no no!” Hermione sputtered, rubbing her hands over her face in embarrassment, “I’ve only been here two weeks! I need to settle in first. I can’t be off gallivanting with men there’s so much to do so much to see-,”
“Hermione. Jesus. Shut up!” Lisa said, giving her a pointed look. “Just, be nice!” And before Hermione knew it she was being dragged out again. She hoped that the blonde haired man had left but he was still stood by the counter. His face was turned towards the door. Maybe he was wondering if he should leave. However as soon as the door reopened and Lisa and Hermione emerged his attention was focused back on them.
Hermione put his money in the till and went to get his change. Lisa excused herself and went to stack some shelves. She positioned herself behind the man and was gesturing with her arms wildly, pointing at her and at him and then making her hands kiss each other. It was all very dramatic and Hermione flushed again.
“Here’s your change.”
“Thank you, Hermione.” His lip quirked upwards slightly and then, as if he seemed to realise he was beginning to smile, his mouth suddenly pulled back down again. Flat. He picked up the book and walked off towards the door. Hermione’s eyes followed and she hit her hand against her head wondering why she couldn’t be more confident like Lisa. What if that man was what her dream was telling her about. The white hair? The goodness she was supposed to feel? What if that was him and it was walking away from her.
Quite suddenly, he turned around.
“Hermione?” Her head snapped up and her eyes met his. He grinned in her direction and winked, “My name is Draco. I’ll see you around.”