||Black Scarves and Careless Hearts|| A Dramione Fanfic

27. Gardening Supplies

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"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."
~Maya Angelou
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"Will that be all?"

Hermione nodded and smiled at the moustached and pot bellied man behind the counter. He shook open a large brown paper bag and placed all of Hermione's purchases inside.

To take her mind off the spirit numbing thoughts that constantly flitted in and out of her head, Hermione had decided to step outside. She realised that she needed a new lot of soil enrichers and fertilisers for her plants, so she wasn't entirely unpurposeful either.

There was a nursery near the park which she, Harry, Ron and Ginny frequented. Hermione bought all her gardening supplies from this particular nursery. Earlier, before Luna had invested all her time into the Sanctuary, she used to accompany Hermione on her nursery trips.

Hermione quickly paid the amount, put the big under her arm and left the comfortably warm nursery. Outside, a bitter wind whipped her hair around her face and shoulders. It was the kind of wind that made people want to rush back inside the warmth of their homes.

But Hermione wasn't ready to go home yet.

Her frequent visits to the Burrow had dwindled down to once a week, because she couldn't bring herself to go there and be melancholy when everyone else was already feeling down in the dumps. Molly understood, of course, for Hermione had told her about her parents, and sent Hermione off with packages of delicious food after every visit. Occasionally, George would come to visit Hermione at her flat. His visits helped lighten her heavy heart.

Looking on both sides, Hermione crossed the road to get to the park. There were fewer people than usual, but she didn't mind. After catching her breath from running across the road, she began walking down the path. There was no particular reason for her doing so, except the fact that when outside, she couldn't succumb to her own thoughts.

There was a small lake on the other side of the park, surrounded by shady oak trees and benches. Usually, when she came with the others, they didn't visit that side of the park.

Wanting some change in landscape, Hermione took the left path the next time she reached a fork.

There were more people. Hermione kept her head held up even though she really wanted to curl up on a bench or under a tree. She became acutely aware of how heavy the bag under her arm really was. She hitched it up to adjust her grip.

The lake came into view. It wasn't too large, but it was still picturesque. The pale moonlight cast weak rays on the water, so that it looked like a dark, shimmery carpet. The leaves on the trees rustled and swayed steadily, their sound accompanying that of the insects' buzzing. Someone laughed somewhere, and the noise shot across the water and through the air. A few children were playing in the small playground close by.

Hermione sighed and walked to the edge of the lake, where the benches were. A few geese which had been sleeping with their heads tucked under their wings startled and honked loudly when Hermione walked past. One flapped its wings threateningly.

Not wanting to be attacked by a bunch of geese, Hermione quickly moved away.

There was an empty bench a little away from the edge of the water, and Hermione sat down there, under the branches of a vast oak. The cool bench made her shiver, and she pulled her woolly cap low over her ears.

She and Ron had come here once before, and had sat on this very bench. It had been Memorial day, and after spending the morning in Hogsmeade where the mausoleums were, Ron had asked Hermione to be with him in silence for some time, and Hermione had suggested that they come here. He had cried a little, and so had Hermione. Harry had joined them some time later, with a set jaw but sad eyes.