Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine
I'm leaving my life in your hands
People say I'm crazy and that I am blind
Risking it all in a glance
And how you got me blind is still a mystery
I can't get you out of my head
Don't care what is written in your history
As long as you're here with me
I don't care who you are
Where you're from
What you did
As long as you love me
Who you are
Where you're from
Don't care what you did
As long as you love me
-As long as you love me, Backstreet boys
The Wizarding world was in an uproar. Women of all ages were crying, pictures of the happy, newly-engaged couple smiling up from the front page of newspapers and magazines. Gossip columnist and financial reporters alike were writing about this long-expected, extravagant engagement. Men all over the country were feeling either relieved or sharing in the women's disappointed-Harry wasn't the only beloved figure in the Wizarding community. Hermione had found her way into many of the public's hearts through her volunteer work and constant involvement in charity work.
Meanwhile, the Wizarding favorite bride-to-be wasn't enjoying her morning. She had been awakened far too early for her standards by a large barn owl that bore a Howler from a mother in Ireland, complaining of how Hermione had stolen Harry from her daughter. This was the first of many letters that found its way into the small apartment. Even after Hermione had locked the windows and doors, letters came through the oddest of openings- sink filters, down the chimney, under the doorway- and the pile got larger and larger. After a while, Hermione gave up trying to read them all and just dumped them into a large trash bag when they arrived. Thankfully Brie and Ginny stopped by to help and they managed to weed out the bad letters from the ones that actually wished the couple congratulations and the best of luck. Hermoine made a note to keep these letters so she could respond to them later, thanking them for their acceptance.
Harry had to leave early, knowing that if he took his normal route he wouldn't make it to the restaurant on time. He had a meeting with Kingsley today at noon, apparently for something of high importance, and he had a lot of work to do before then. He had got a couple of friends from various places to help him finish the restaurant; the last thing they had to do was set up the furniture and wire the cooking fixtures in the large kitchen. Hermione had insisted on a tour of the restaurant after the party the night before, when everyone had left. It was an understatement to say that she was impressed. It was the most charming, unique restaurant she had been in and it hadn't even been finished. There were several different rooms, all connected by one big room in which the majority of the patrons would dine in. Besides the ballroom which was only available by rental there were two other large rooms that were very convenient for large, private parties or dances. The ballroom was the only room that had been finished, so Harry asked Hermione to help him plan out the rest of the restaurants decorations providing that they flowed with the Ballroom. She agreed to help him in her spare time.
Ron had stopped by to pick her up for lunch. He knew that they had agreed to meet at a place near the stadium, but he said that there were women swarming around in hopes that Ron would take them to Harry or Hermione. She wasn't sure if she should laugh or be concerned at the female population's reaction to her engagement to Harry. Either way, she didn't mind much. She could handle the letters…most of them. She was a bit nervous about getting another letter from the stalker, knowing this would be a perfect opportunity to strike. Thankfully the Ministry reported that they hadn't found an incriminating letter so far but that they would continue to screen her mail.
Hermione and Ron decided to leave the magical world for their luncheon and dine at a small diner outside of her hometown. They managed to get a small booth in the front of the restaurant near the windows, the fresh noon sunlight warming the booth as they waited for their drinks.
"How is everything going, Ron?"
"It's absolutely amazing. I honestly couldn't ask for anything better in my life right now." He replied, looking casually through the menu.
"That's wonderful to hear. Hows things with Ginny? Last time I heard you two had had row."
"Eh, things are alright I guess. Mum made us make up, she didn't like us arguing. So the air is clear between us but I'm still not happy about her dating that git."
"Ginny must see something in Draco that we missed. She's a smart girl Ron, she wouldn't date a loser. Give him a chance; he must not be as bad as you think."
"I don't know. I don't want her getting mixed up in some of the riffraff I know he's done. He's no saint."
"Nobody is perfect," Hermione shrugged, "but you have to try to cut him slack. Your sister is stubborn; if you don't want him around she'll make sure he stays around just to spite you. She's happy Ron. You should be happy for her and suck it up."
"Do you believe that yourself?" Ron asked
"Not really, but it sounds good doesn't it." She smiled, laughing softly. Ron grinned back at her shaking her head.
"You're a piece of work, you know. But any way, what's going on with our new Healer over here. Finally passed that exam?" he said, twisting around to get the sun out of his eyes.
"Yes, it wasn't as hard as I expected."
"Says the girl who studied for it for three weeks."
"Only two!"
"Yeah, whatever you say Hermione."
The argument was disrupted upon the arrival of drinks. The two enjoyed a relaxing lunch with each other, talking about what's been going on and catching up on good times. By the end, Ron paid and then rushed off to make it back to practice where the coach was showing them the new plays for their next match against the Harpies.
Hermione decided to stop by a local book store, now that exams were over she decided to take a day to herself to relax and unwind before she sent in applications for jobs at various places. The bookstore was in the center of town, a short walk from the diner. Hermione enjoyed the sights of her old town as she strolled along, waving to familiar faces and greeting those she didn't know.
The bookstore was very small and quaint. It was much darker than the diner had been, sunlight came in through small slits from the paper that covered the windows at the front of the shop; the owner claimed that the sun bleached out the books. Hermione greeted Mrs.Halloway, the elderly owner, on her way back to her favorite section of the store-Nonfiction. She loved reading biographies and real life tales more than fiction. While she enjoyed the imagination of fiction authors, there was something intoxicating about real life stories that kept her enchanted. Maybe it was the reality that this actually happened to someone, somewhere, once. She didn't know, but she couldn't help but find stories of hair-raising escapes and life changing experiences. She often considered writing down her life experiences and publishing them but she wasn't sure if she really wanted to let the world into her private life. Harry had been through much more of an ordeal than she had, the war was not easy on him at all and he didn't need the world to know…or maybe they should. It may help to let them know what he went through to give them an understanding of why they should leave him be. Crazed fans still sent him letters, years after his defeat of Tom Riddle, with crazy ideas and marriage proposals. Hermione smiled and glanced at her finger again, admiring her ring.
"Hermione? Hermione Granger?" a voice said from behind her. She jumped and whirled around, coming face to face with a tall man. She looked at his familiar face, trying to remember where she had met him from.
"Yes?" she said, backing up a bit.
"I'm Rick, Rick Bludaw. We went to grammar school together, till we were eleven. Do you remember me? I was the short chubby boy who ate the paste."
"Rick! Oh I do remember you! Wow, it's been some time! You look much different than last time we met." She said, remembering her childhood friend.
"Ha-ha, well I would hope I changed. The last time I saw you, you wore your hair in pigtails. You've changed a lot since then too."
"Wow, this is a coincidence. How have you been doing?" she asked conversationally.
"I've been doing well, I just graduated from college with a PHD and I'm seeing this great girl, Melinda." He said, leaning against a shelf full of Encyclopedias. "How have you been?"
"Well, I'm hanging in there. Life's been shaping up for me recently; I got engaged just last night actually." She said, showing him her ring. His eyes widened and she thought she saw a flash of jealousy flash across his features but dismissed it for a trick of the light.
"Wow, congratulations! Who's the lucky boy?"
"Harry Potter, I've known him since I was, well, eleven."
"Wow, that's a long time. Well, it was nice seeing you again but I really must be off. Let's keep in touch, alright? We should meet up again, catch up on old times, what do you say?"
"Sure, sounds like a plan." Hermione agreed. He said goodbye, without leaving a method of contacting him. Hermoine just shrugged and went back to finding a book.
She stumbled into her apartment later that day, flicking on the switch to turn the lights on. She dropped the grocery bags on the island in the kitchen and went back to the hallway to hang up her jacket and take off her shoes. She turned around to head back to the kitchen when a red object caught her eye. On the table near the door there was a plain white envelope with a dead red rose lying on top. She could see a searing red on the thorns and judging by the smell that she picked up on, the thorns had been poisoned. What she was more interested in was the envelope-another letter from the stalker.
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