7 Over hearing

Hermione followed Percy to his apartment, easily the nicest one in the building. The first thing she noticed was the unusual amount of fish Percy had. They all swam around in a large tank two meters high at the back of the living room, complimenting the blue wallpaper nicely. "Is blue your favorite color?" Hermione asked, smiling slightly. Percy's cheeks flamed instantly, and he nodded once.

"You can go make yourself at home, I'll go get some popcorn. Would you like butter on it?" he asked. Hermione nodded enthusiastically, beaming at the cute expression on Percy's face. Plopping herself down on the couch, Hermione picked up the CD's on the coffee table. When Percy came back with popcorn and hot chocolate, Hermione was holding up The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.

Halfway through the movie, Hermione found herself lying down across the couch, Percy a respectable distance away from her feet. She bit her lip, wishing he would edge closer. She certainly wasn't in a position to. She wished he were less a gentleman and more forward with her.

And suddenly, she was seventeen again, wishing Ronald would just kiss her already. And then she was eighteen, and Ronald finally asked her to marry him. And then she was nineteen, and she was watching Ronald kiss Lavender. No.

Percy's voice jarred her to reality, his greenish-blue eyes glowing in the light of the TV.

"Are you sleepy, Hermione?" Percy asked. Hermione bit her tongue.

No. "Yes," she replied wishing she could kick herself.

"Do you want to stay here for tonight? It's already late," Percy offered warmly, but all Hermione could see in him was Ron. Ronald. They were physical opposites. Emotional opposites, even, but this was the start of something familiar. Something that had broken her.

Yes. "No, it's okay. I will... walk myself down," she muttered half-heartedly. Percy stood up, pausing the movie.

"No, I'll walk you down. I'm sorry I kept you up so late." Chivalry was overrated. The elevator ride down was quiet, but Hermione was screaming to herself the entire time.

Percy isn't Ronald.

You don't know that.

He's nice. He's a gentleman.

He's smart. You just have to be smarter.

And if I want to be happy?

That isn't an option if it won't last!

Finally, Percy left her. He himself seemed subdued, as if he were only half there. She wasn't the only one in distress, she realizes. Hermione had bid him goodnight, before retreating to her room. She laid herself on the bed. The walls watched her in the moonlight, chiding her soundlessly. "You complicate yourself, 'Mione," Hermione whispered into the dark. But it was okay, if she were to leave in a few weeks.

She would leave in a few weeks.

In the morning, Hermione went out on a run, before returning to Silena's coffee shop. Silena greeted her cheerily, before telling one of her workers to make her favorite customer a green tea latte quickly. When Hermione looked back to Silena's face, it was concerned.

"You seem a bit down," Silena said, taking a seat across from Hermione. The latter smiled slightly.

"I thought I met someone, but I don't think it'll work," Hermione admitted. Silena had a knowing look in her eyes, and she stood up and hugged Hermione tightly.

"You'll be fine. A beautiful young lady like you won't stay on the market for long," she told Hermione, who blushed deeply. Silena had that way of her, of making everyone feel loved. Hermione envied her.

Hermione could understand how Charles was so taken by Silena, if not for her effortless beauty. Even just as her friend, Hermione felt a special kind of safe around Silena.

"Silena," she called hesitantly. "I was wondering if you could maybe tell me if Malcolm was coming to the wedding?" Malcolm was Hermione's cousin, from her mother's side, apparently. She knew Silena was once friends with him from a summer camp they both went to years ago. The shop owner frowned slightly.

"You know Malcolm?" she asked confusedly. Hermione nodded.

"He's my cousin. Is he coming?" Silena pondered this for a second, before nodding slowly.

"Yes, he's a good friend of Charles'," Silena said slowly. Her posture was stiff.

Hermione never questioned Silena's behavior. After all, how could she have known what Silena was thinking? Malcolm was of the Athena cabin, and if they were cousins from Malcom's mother, Hermione just might have been a half-blood as well? And a daughter of Athena, no less.

Hermione ran a hand through her hair, avoiding the mirror as she changed into her morning outfit. She'd gotten a job at the little bookstore downtown while the owners went to Australia on a vacation. It opens at ten in the morning, and Hermione was allowed to stay open for as long as she wanted.

The wedding was in less than three weeks, and she really was putting off getting a proper dress. She remembered the Yule ball, so many years ago. She had enjoyed wearing a dress and getting her hair done, enjoyed seeing the look on her friend's faces at the sight of her. None of that seemed appealing now.

"Morning," a familiar voice greeted, the door of the little shop opening. Hermione looked up to see Percy, his ears red from the cold.

"Are you following me?" Hermione teased. Percy instantly turned red. He shook his head, gesturing to a shelf of books on knitting.

"I'm here for the books," he said, winking.

Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes. "And are you saying those pieces of paper are worth more than I am?" she asked, her voice light and humorous, much more than she felt.

Percy picked up the nearest book, To Kill A Mockingbird. "Well, some books, like Parher Ele's To Lick A Brokimord?" he read, his eyes squinting slightly. Hermione cocked her head to one side.

"You can't read that?" she asked.

Percy grinned sheepishly. "I'm dyslexic. And ADHD, but that doesn't really affect my ability to read as much."

"So you are here for me?" Hermione pressed. Percy nodded.

"Yes. I, uh, I scored some tickets to a football game. Like, soccer football, not rugby. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me. My friends Grover and Nico aren't really people persons."

Hermione thought about it, but she didn't understand football at all. The only sport she ever watched with any excitement was Quidditch, and it was only for the reason that a) it was magical and everything she loved was magical and b) Harry and Ronald were on the team. "Sure," she said. "But you're going to have to explain the rules to me."

Percy smiled and left, muttering something about his mother being alone at home, but Hermione was too busy hiding her blush to hear him.

The rest of work went by uneventfully, except for a pair of twins, who came in looking for books for school. "We need books on Greek Mythology, if you have any," one tall boy said. "I'm Travis Stoll." Hermione didn't reply, but pointed to the shelves at the back. His twin thanked Hermione, before handing her a fifty to pay for the three books.

"My first tip," she muttered. "Ten dollars." Overkill, to be frank.

She watched the brother's leave, but then frowned at their backs. The taller one, Travis, was pointing to her, whispering in his brother's ear. "I'm telling you, I can see it!" he said louder. The shorter brother sneaked a glance back at me, before shaking his head. "I don't see anything. Let's get you back." Hermione brushed it off with a shake of her head.

When she had returned to her apartment, there was a letter waiting for her. It was from Ron.

Hermione,

I'm really sorry about how we left off. It was a mistake, I know, I've made a mistake. But I need you to come home now. I've broken it off with Lavender. I'm yours. You just need to forgive me.

I'm so lost without you Mione. You belong here.

With your family.

Ron.

She sat on the couch, rereading each word. Without warning, a sob racked her throat. And that started the waterfall of tears. She crumpled the parchment into a ball, throwing it to the other end of the couch. Still, she had no urge to toss it away for good.

Ronald wasn't family. She knew that much, at least. But hadn't they felt happy together? She still had to attend the wedding anyways. What's another month to Ronald? If he really missed her, he would've come himself. Like Harry had. She closed her eyes, curling into a ball. I deserve to be happy. It was the last thought she had as she fell asleep.

The sunlight woke Hermione up, streaming through the windows annoyingly. "Merlin," Hermione breathed. It was eight o'clock. Pulling herself up, Hermione groaned at the ache in her back. She should have slept on her bed. But then memories of last night hit her, and she took a deep breath. The paper ball was still where it was. Sighing, Hermione picked it up and smoothened it out. She left it on her dining table, wondering if she should just throw it.

Was I going to write back? she thought. No.

She returned to the bookstore, stopping on the way for coffee to get her morning started. The Stoll twins returned that day, dressed in matching orange t-shirts. Their jackets covered much of the picture on the front, but what did shirts mean to Hermione? This time, Travis introduced his brother Connor, who asked if the store had any books about Heracles, the Roman Hercules. Hermione smiled at them, before leading them to the aisle by the windows.

There was only one more copy of The Twelve Labours, and they claimed it immediately. "Some assignment," Hermione commented, asking the brother's for $7.59. They handed her a ten, before running quickly away with the book. Again, they stopped in front of the store, Travis whispering in Connor's ear. Hermione muttered a spell, and Travis' voice filled her ears.

"... glow about her. It's the same one we saw on Thalia and Zoe!" Travis said.

I remind them of someone? she thought. A girl?

But then Connor replied.

"She's not like them. Thalia would never let someone like her join. She's too tame. And British, too," Connor said. He wrinkled his nose, and Hermione stopped listening in. Nothing they had said made sense.