Chapter 2
1st April 2005
When Hermione stepped out of her fireplace and into her own flat, she waved her wand once and the living room came to life. The table lamps switched on and a fire lit in the hearth, bathing the quaint living room in a soft glow and chasing off the early April chill. Her home was a modest 2 bedroom flat in London, situated on Bedford street; as it was on the second floor, it boasted high ceilings and private access to the rooftop. It suited her perfectly with it being only a 5 minute walk from the Leaky Cauldron, and thus Diagon Alley.
The living room was a cosy room, big enough for her large, plush, 3 seater sofa, and a lovely high backed reading chair by the fire. If a muggle was to enter her flat they would probably question why her console table was next to the fireplace rather than the front door which was all the way over on the other side of the room. Though, for a witch who only used her front door on the weekends, it made perfect sense.
The living room led into a separate kitchen with light wooden countertops and cream coloured cupboards which wrapped around the entire room. The kitchen sink was situated in front of a large window which looked out onto the hustle and bustle of the street below. Her gas cooker stood pride of place in the centre of a large island, with a welcoming breakfast bar opposite. The kitchen was easily her favourite room in the flat. After months of living off of mushrooms whilst on the run, she had made it her personal mission to become an accomplished home cook in the years since the war. Herself, Ron, Harry, and Ginny had spent many an evening in this kitchen drinking wine, playing games, and cooking delicious food since she’d moved in.
Down the hallway off of the living room was her bedroom, bathroom, and spare bedroom-come-home library. Although the walls in the living room were covered in bookshelves, Hermione’s love for books quickly had them filled to bursting and spilling out into every other room of the flat. She had been forced to build more bookshelves in the spare room to hold the overflow of books in her ever growing collection. With the rate she continued to buy books, it was likely that it wouldn’t be long before she would have to do the same in her own bedroom.
Hermione put down her bag on the console table, kicked off her work heels, and headed down the hall to her bedroom. Walking over to her drawers, she shimmied out of her stuffy, ministry appropriate clothing then reached behind her back to unclasp her bra. Happy to be able to move freely once more, she pulled on a comfy pair of pyjama bottoms and an old hoodie, then walked back to her living room. She waved her wand behind her and heard her dirty clothes fly into her laundry basket and a pair of clean socks came zooming into her outstretched hand. She smiled to herself at the simple everyday uses for magic, for it would never lose its charm.
Stomach growling, she grabbed the stack of takeaway menus from the console table drawer and flopped down onto the sofa. She made them float in front of her as she pulled on her fluffy socks so she could decide what she wanted to order. Despite her newfound love for cooking, she did not feel like making a meal for herself when it was so late in the evening. Summoning her mobile phone from her bag, she decided on the local Chinese takeaway, placing an order for delivery of all of her favourites. Hermione lay back on the sofa and closed her eyes whilst she waited for the delivery person, exhausted from the week just passed. She sighed as the image of Kingsley dashing through her office floo popped back into her head. She knew he would now be sitting in some restaurant with yet another beautiful witch as she lay in her pyjamas ordering take away Chinese food. How sad! Why couldn’t she just forget about this stupid unrequited love of hers? “When had this bothersome crush even truly begun?” she began to wonder. She suddenly found herself 15 again, sitting at the dining table in the kitchen of Grimmauld place.
Tuesday 1st August 1995
Hermione and Ron had been called downstairs for breakfast by Mrs Weasley. She had arrived the week before after having spent the first part of the summer with her parents. She had decided that since they had gone back to work, there was no point in her staying home alone all day when she could come and stay at Grimmauld place with her second family. They had just taken their seats at the table and already there was a plate in front of each of them, filling itself with eggs, sausages, toast, and all of the other delicious things Mrs Wealsey had rustled up that morning. Ron wasted no time before unceremoniously shoving far too much food into his mouth at once, as was usual. Hermione glanced up at him from her own plate and grimaced.
“Must you always eat as if you’re never going to see food again, Ronald?” she said as she turned to face the door so that she wasn’t forced to watch the massacre unfolding in front of her.
“Wha-?” Ron grunted around a helpless mouthful of sausage. He only stopped when they both heard unfamiliar voices coming down the stairs. Through the door came a purple haired Tonks followed by a tall, dark, and very handsome man dressed in auror robes.
“Good morning you two, come have some breakfast!” called Mrs Weasley, still bustling around the kitchen. She sent two more plates flying to the empty places next to the two teenagers which immediately started filling themselves with food. Tonks settled down next to Ron, while the newcomer sat next to Hermione.
“Mornin’, Molly,” Tonks sang as she scooped up some eggs with almost as much enthusiasm as Ron.
“Good morning, Molly,” came a deep rumble from the large man next to her. “And good morning to you two, too,'' he said, turning to face Hermione with a lopsided smile. “I’m Kingsley Shacklebolt-”
“YOU’RE AN AUROR!” Kingsley was interrupted by a wide eyed Ron.
“Eh-hem, I’m also an auror, Ron. Why don’t you react like that with me?” Tonks complained, her fork clattering to the floor after gesturing too forcefully with it.
“Yeah, but he’s so cool, look at him!” said Ron, star struck and eyeing up Kingsley’s auror robes. Hermione couldn’t help but eye him up herself. The way his arms and shoulders filled out his robes had not gone unnoticed by her.
Kingsley chuckled. “Yes, I’m an auror. Trained by Mad-Eye himself, and partner to this clutz over here.” He gestured to Tonks, who was now hunting for her dropped fork under the table.
“Hey!” came a disembodied voice, “I’m not a clu-” *THUD* “OW!” she rose from under the table rubbing her head, her hair turning a bright red to match her face, but her fork was held triumphantly in hand. “Point taken.”
“Truly a wonder you made it through training at all, really.” Kingsley joked good-naturedly.
“My 100% score in Concealment and Disguise made up for what I lacked in Stealth and Tracking…” she admitted with a cheeky smile. “Anyway, Kings, this is Ron, youngest male Weasley, and apparently your new number one super fan,” Tonks said with a roll of her eyes, “and this,” turning to Hermione, “is Hermione Granger. I’m sure the two of you will get along like a house on fire, I’m not sure which one of you loves books more!” she finished with a bounce of excitement.
“A pleasure to meet you, Hermione.” Kingsley extended his hand for her to shake.
Hermione suddenly found herself with a clammy hand. “It’s nice to meet you too!” she squeaked as she tried to casually wipe her hand on her jeans before accepting Kingsley’s hand. It was much, much larger than her own hand, and she couldn't help but notice how smooth yet strong it was. She shook herself when she realised she’d been clasping his hand for far longer than was socially acceptable, clearing her throat awkwardly as she hastily turned back to her breakfast.
Tonks swallowed a mouthful of food before addressing both of the teens. “Are you looking forward to Fifth year then? What classes are you taking?”
“Just the usual for me and Harry, we’re hoping to become aurors ourselves so are taking the classes we have to.” replied Ron around a mouthful of food.
Hermione found her voice again once the topic of school was brought up, “I’m taking the same as the boys, but not Divination of course. I’m also taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. I’ve already read all of the books on both class lists which has just made me even more excited to meet my professors and start some assignments!” she practically vibrated.
Kingsley chuckled, “Excited for assignments? Both reading lists? Maybe I do have competition for the title of Britain's greatest bookworm...”
A warm, happy feeling spread throughout Hermione as she took in both Tonks’ and Kingsley’s smiles, both directed at her and her enthusiasm. She would be forever grateful to finally be surrounded by people who understood her.
Hermione was snapped out of her happy memory by a loud knock at the door. Her food had arrived. She got up, grabbing some muggle money on her way to the door, and happily accepted her meal. She sent the delivery boy off with a nice tip and closed the door behind him. Sighing, she sat down in front of the TV with her food and vowed to clear Kingsley from her mind for the rest of the night.