If You're Not Here With Me

Chapter 1

"No, no. It is what I wanted to hear. I don't want him to be miserable. The few moments he and I shared are like a droplet of mist in the ocean of time." Hermione cringed and shook her head. "Wow, that came out poetically tragic. I'm glad he has someone that makes him happy"

"I'm still sorry, though. I like the idea of having you as a sister-in-law. Charlie's still single if you're interested," George suggested.

"No, he's not. Charlie is married to his dragons," Hermione laughed through a sniffle.

"Exactly the reason he needs a good woman in his life!" There was a moment of silence and then George asked, "Can I ask what happened between you two? Fred didn't say much about it after you left."

"There really isn't much to say. After he regained consciousness, we flirted a bit, which led to a very nice kiss. Then the universe played a cruel trick and I had to leave for Australia then very next day." Hermione frowned and let out a slow breath. "I didn't even get to say a proper goodbye. I had to leave a note."

"I'm sorry. That's rough."

Hermione nodded and stepped to the side so that George could ring up the next customer, and inspected a display of what looked like Muggle mood rings. The sign above them read 'Reflection Rings'. Instead of sensing your moods, it claimed to read the tone of your thoughts.

"Try one on," George said. He plucked a ring with an oval gemstone from the shelf and handed it to Hermione.

"What's the difference between these and a Muggle mood ring?" Hermione asked, slipping the ring on. The white of the gemstone instantly swirled away and was replaced with grey.

"The main difference is that those Muggle rings don't actually read your mood. They're affected by heat. Come on Granger. You know that," he laughed, giving her shoulder a playful punch. "We were going to make it so these actually did detect your mood but then we thought knowing the nature of one's thoughts might be more useful. For example, your grey stone is telling me your thoughts are of a gloomy nature. I know to try and steer the topic to a happier discussion topic. If in the middle of a conversation your ring were to turn red, I know your thoughts are angry and I should shield my bollocks or maybe run and hide."

Hermione giggled and as the image of George running for cover materialized in her mind, the stone's color transitioned from grey to sapphire blue. "That's really very clever," she said, and the blue color lightened but didn't go back to grey.

"Light blue means your thoughts are content," he said, pointing to a color chart on the display. Hermione went to take the ring off but George stopped her and said, "Keep it. Consider it a welcome home gift."

Hermione smiled and said, "Thank you."

"What's the brightest witch of her age going to do now that she's home?"

"I'm actually your neighbor now."

George's jaw dropped. "You're the new owner of Flourish and Blotts?" Hermione nodded and he laughed. "We've been watching the renovations the last few weeks, wondering what the hell was happening. You reopened today, right?"

"Yeah. No big grand opening or anything like that. But I reorganized things and put in a coffee and pastry bar, along with some comfy chairs so people can hang out and read. I actually got to hold interviews and hire an assistant, like a proper boss."

"Congratulations! I can't wait to see it. What are you doing here then? Shouldn't you be working?"

"Lunch break. Thought I'd pop by to see if you're free."

"I should be able to break away in a few minutes. Tell you what. There's a Thai place, a block down from the Muggle entrance of the Leaky Cauldron. Go snag a table and I'll meet you there."