Pride of a Granger & Prejudice of a Malfoy

Chapter 5: Stanger in the Bookshop

****** Dedicated tomorningstar_clm16, for getting me addicted to Vampire Diaries. If it wasn't for her, my stranger would most definitely not be this attractive =) *****

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"In your life, you meet people. Some you never think about again. Some, you wonder what happened to them. There are some that you wonder if they ever think about you. And then there are some you wish you never had to think about again. But you do." –C.S. Lewis

As Hermione walked through the door of the quaint bookstore, situated cozily between the bakery and a family owned café, the scowl she had been sporting since her encounter with a certain Malfoy wiped off of her face. She took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar and comforting odor of parchment, ink, and the indescribable aroma of old books; a smile broke out on her face.

As she walked up and down the narrow aisles of books, her arm began piling up with books she wanted to purchase. After nearly two hours of roaming around the bookstore, combing the entire first floor and half of the second floor, Hermione finally spotted the book she had initially come to buy, a first edition copy of Charles Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities."

Unfortunately, the book was sitting on a shelf much too tall for Hermione's five foot four inches self to reach.

Hermione stared at the novel, sitting almost mockingly out of her reach, and debated her options. She could go downstairs and try to find the old lady who owned the bookstore, but she might lose her place and never find the book again. She could whip out her wand and accio it down, but she might be seen using magic. Or she could actually climb the shelf.

Just as she was about to decide on the latter, a voice interrupted her diabolical thoughts.

"Do you need help with that?" a voice asked.

Hermione turned around to find a tall, handsome man with dark brown hair and sapphire blue eyes looking at her questioningly.

"Yes, please," Hermione replied with a smile. "I was thinking that I'd have to climb the shelves."

The strangers smiled. "Which book is it that you wanted?"

"A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens," Hermione replied.

"Ah, first edition! Well spotted!" the stranger exclaimed. "Are you a collector?"

"Not really. I recently received a few of his first edition novels for my birthday, so I thought might as well have a whole set," Hermione explained. "What about you? Do you collect?"

"Unfortunately, no," replied the stranger mournfully. "Not financially equip enough to pursue such a hobby, but I do enjoy reading."

If his astonishingly good looks had not peaked Hermione's interests, his last sentence sure did.

Thus began their never ending conversation. They talked and talked and talked. They talked all the way down the stairs, they talked while they paid for their purchases, and they talked while they walked to the café next door, where they talked for two hours straight. They talked about everything under the sun, never exhausting their cache of topics to discuss. It was only when the shops around them began closing, did the pair realize how long they had spent conversing.

"It's ten already!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise.

"I didn't realize it had gotten so late! I suppose time does fly when you are with interesting company," the stranger replied with a wink.

"I have to go back, otherwise my friends will think that I got murdered," Hermione replied, blushing slightly at the wink. "It was really nice meeting you! I really enjoyed talking to you!"

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied with a smile. "I hope we meet again."

"Me too," Hermione replied with a smile. "Bye!" she called out, making her way back to the hotel.

"Bye," the stranger replied, with a strange look in his sapphire blue eyes.

"Where have you been?" Cho asked the moment Hermione walked in their suite. "We were worried sick!!"

"We?" drawled a bored voice from the sofa. "Speak for yourself. The only thing I am sick of is waiting for Granger. And perhaps Granger herself."

"I was at the café by the bookstore and I didn't realize how fast the time went by," Hermione replied, addressing Cho before turning to the occupant of the sofa. "And what are you doing here Malfoy?"

"Blaise fell and sprained his ankle and is currently sleeping off a heavy dose of skele-gro and Pansy is sleeping. So Ms. Chang, here, roped me into waiting for you. Now that you are here, finally may I add, I can leave," Draco replied getting up from the sofa.

"Losing your beauty sleep, Malfoy?" Hermione asked sarcastically.

"Something like that," Draco replied as he began making his way towards the door. "Not that you would understand of course. Beauty is obviously a foreign concept to you."

With that snarky comment followed by a typical Malfoy smirk, Draco exited the room, leaving an extremely amused Cho and a fuming Hermione behind.

"Are you two always like this?" Cho asked, unable to keep her amusement to herself.

"What can I say, old habits die hard," Hermione replied through gritted teeth.